Stolen Innocence
by blackbeltchic
Summary: When Dawn goes to visit Angel during April break, on pretenses of visiting Faith, she takes home a hitchhiker, that she doesn't like. The girl in her latest vision has a tie no one foresaw...She is the youngest daughter of a W&H lawyer, named Hank Summers
1. Part One

Title: Stolen Innocence  
  
Author: the crazy one  
  
Disclaimer: Not only do I own none of the characters, I do not even own the plot! Sucks to be me, doesn't it? The whole story came from this challenge GidgetGirl was nice enough to send me, and I must say that I was in love with the challenge since I ever first read it. It was something my twisted mind could work with. Well, since I said I'd do this, here's the challenge:  
  
Challenge: THE LEGAL CHALLENGE: by Gidgetgirl  
  
Two years post-Chosen Angel becomes aware of a policy involving W&H employees giving their children to the company. Most children are never taken, but occasionally, a child with power disappears or is "adopted" by the senior partners. Angel's new seer (who may be anyone, but I'd suggest Dawn) sees a vision of a young child. With a little research, Angel discovers that the child is the child of a former W&H lawyer, Hank Summers, and the W&H secretary for whom he left his wife. So, in short, this child is Buffy's half sister.  
  
In saving the child, Angel ends up bringing Buffy back to LA, and the two reunite, but all is not well, as this particular child is only one of 3-5 who were needed to channel the power of the slayer line into the force of a single ascension: the ascension of an entire demon dimension. Together, Buffy and Angel must find a way to shelter the child and to reconcile themselves in time to save the world, etc. etc.  
  
Requirements:  
  
Buffy's little sib may be anywhere between the ages of three and nine, and may be male or female.  
  
The child must in some way resemble Dawn, either in behavior, looks, keyness, etc.  
  
The child must become attached to Angel quickly.  
  
Buffy and Angel must be in the parent roles.  
  
Anyone who's dead on the show stays dead.  
  
Author's notes: Ok, I'm trying this. I promise that everyone that died in Buffy, and anyone who died before Cordelia will stay dead, but it just.... I don't know if I can help myself from bringing Fred and Cordelia into this story. I loved them both so much, and now they're dead. *Tear* But I shall try. I might have the demon Fred there instead, but that'd be harder, I'd think...  
  
** looking back- ok, so it wasn't hard at all! I've got a kick ass cast to work with, and they never even crossed my mind! Oh well.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
"Angel, if you have time, could you go through these old policies for me?" Wesley poked his head into the large office.  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"Thanks. I'll just leave them right here." Wesley put the massive stack of folders on the desk, and left. Angel sighed. He now had even more work to do.  
  
He picked up the top file, rather thin, and flipped through it vacantly. But something about the contents piqued his curiosity, and he started from the beginning.  
  
Wolfram and Hart  
  
To: all employees, past, present and future  
  
From: The senior Partner's representatives  
  
As you are all aware of, we encourage healthy relationships outside of the workplace. Many of you have husbands and wives, and children. It has come to our attention, however, that some of your children possess certain gifts that we find intriguing. If any of your children begin to show any powers that we deem worthy of looking into, we ask that you bring them in for testing. This policy will be mandatory from this day forward.  
  
Thank you,  
  
Mr. Joshua Decanter  
  
His signature followed the printed name. The memo was dated in the late 1800's, and following it was a newer, typed policy. He skimmed it over, but found that it was not worth his time in reading. After the policy followed a list of children that Wolfram and Hart had tested the first one being two weeks after the policy was sent out. There was a cryptic symbol next to some names, but he flipped the file closed and went back to his previous work.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
She sat in her room, breathing hard after her last vision. She had no clue why she had started getting the stupid things. She had gone to see Angel without Buffy' permission during her spring break, and had come back with splitting headaches and strange, confusing movies in her head. This isn't what she thought Private Theatre was supposed to be like.  
  
"Hey, you ok in there?" Her older sister called from behind the door.  
  
"Uh, yeah. I tripped and fell. I'm fine." She called, picking herself up. She had no clue what the pictures meant, or why she saw them, but she knew that they had something to do with Angel.  
  
"Hey, since school's getting out for the summer, I was thinking about going and visiting Faith." She said later at the breakfast table.  
  
"That's a great idea. I'd go with you, but I've got too much to do here. You can go by yourself, right?"  
  
"I'm 18, I'm old enough to take care of myself."  
  
"Fine, fine." The blond held up her hands. "I'll call Giles to get the money later, ok, Dawn?"  
  
"Thanks." She said, turning her attention to the food in front of her.  
  
~ * ~ * ~  
  
She stepped off the plane, and followed the other passengers into the busy terminal. She could feel a stress induced headache coming on, so she rushed through the throngs, grabbed her suitcase, and fled the air conditioned interior for the blinding light and 90 degree weather of Los Angeles. She called a taxi, and gave directions to the law firm. During the ride, she took two naprozine, the highest allowed dosage, and leaned back, closing her eyes against the glare from everything. She never remembered L.A. being so bright.  
  
Once the cab stopped at the huge building, she paid her fare and hurried inside, out of the bright sun. Inside was, as usual, a busy hive of worker ants. Though the employees weren't ants, though some weren't human. She walked up to the secretary's desk.  
  
"Dawn!" the blond vampire cried from behind the desk. She set down her mug, Dawn didn't want to think about what was inside, and got up to give her a hug.  
  
"Hi, Harmony. Is Angel in?" she asked uncomfortably as the once popular girl hugged her.  
  
"Yeah, one sec." She went and sat back down, punching a number on the phone.  
  
"Don't tell him it's me, ok?"  
  
"Sure. Hey Boss, there's someone to see you." She said into the phone. She nodded, and put the phone down, "Go right on in." Dawn thanked her, picking up her suitcase and entered Angel's huge office. It still freaked her out about the windows, though.  
  
"Dawn. What do I owe the pleasure?"  
  
"Stuff it, Angel." She dropped her suitcase.  
  
"Is something wrong?"  
  
"Depends on your definition of wrong. Seems the last time I came to visit, I took home a hitchhiker, up here." She pointed to her head. "They're not too friendly, either. Confusing pictures and pounding headaches. All I can think of is, they're related to you, somehow."  
  
"You're getting visions?" he asked, shocked.  
  
"Don't sound so shocked about it. I'm not just the slayer's little sister. I am a human being."  
  
"I-I thought I had lost the visions, when I lost Cordelia..."  
  
"Well, for some reason they're back. The only thing is, I don't want them. Give them to someone else. Just get them out of my head."  
  
"I don't know how, Dawn. I'm sorry. But...what have you visions been about?"  
  
"Well, the most recent one was about this little girl, about four years old. She looks a lot like Buffy, now that I think about it. She's lost, and afraid. And she's not at home with her parents. The only people she see are..." she closed her eyes, trying to remember, "people in suits. Like lawyers, I guess." She opened her eyes, and felt the sudden need to sit down. Leaning heavily on Angel's desk, not trusting her legs to carry her the few feet to the chair, she pushed some file folders aside so she could sit. The pile tipped, but she was too dizzy to stop them.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Angel!" she said as the files hit the floor.  
  
"Oh, it's ok, I had to go through those eventually any-are you ok?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm-whoa...." She had leaned too far forward to see the mess she had made, and slipped off the desk. She tried to grab the closest thing to keep her steady, but the office items fell with her as the floor rushed ever closer to her.  
  
"Dawn!" he cried, rushing to her crumbled form.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
"Whoa-"she moaned, shifting.  
  
"Hey, just lie still a moment."  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
"My apartment. How are you feeling?"  
  
"Like I just lost lots and lots of blood through shallow cuts." He looked at her funny. "Don't ask. Dizzy and headachy."  
  
"You hit your head pretty hard." She tried to sit up, and he had to help her.  
  
"Must be jet jag and lack of sleep."  
  
"Could it have been something to do with the visions? Cordelia always had really bad headaches with her visions."  
  
"That too. I-I feel better now, though. Could I have a glass of water?"  
  
"Sure, one second." He left to go get a glass for her. Once he was gone, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She wasn't so dizzy, and she knew she'd feel better after she had had something to drink.  
  
When he came back, she was leaning heavily on the night stand, but she was standing. She drank the water in one gulp, and started walking out of his bedroom. She felt awkward being in his room, and he hovered around her, watching her every step.  
  
"I seem to remember knocking down a whole bunch of stiff. Should we go clean that up?"  
  
"You should-"  
  
"I'd fine. Trust me. Can we please go clean up that mess now?" She couldn't believe she was asking to clean.  
  
He just sighed and nodded, noticing the resemblance in stubbornness that she shared with her older sister.  
  
Ten minutes later they were organizing the folders, when something caught Dawn's eye. She took a closer look at the sheet of paper in her hand. It was a database, with information both across and down the page. What had caught her eye was a familiar name.  
  
Hanks Summers. Alicia Jones. Ashleigh Melinda Summers. June 21st, 2001. July 31st, 2002. **  
  
"Angel, what's this?" She held up the sheet.  
  
"Uh...List of children of Employees of Wolfram and Hart, is my guess."  
  
"My dad's on here." She showed him the entry.  
  
"Oh, this was in the top file." He looked for the file, then showed her the policy. She read through the memo and the policy, then started looking for more logs.  
  
"Buffy and I are here too." She showed him the entries. "So we were tested? What does this mean? Ashleigh has two asterisks by her name, while Buffy has a check, and I have only one asterisk."  
  
"Maybe the test results varied?"  
  
"What were they testing?"  
  
"I don't know, but I have a hunch, and I know where to find out." He swept out of his office. Dawn took one last look at the pile and ran after him.  
  
When she caught up to him, he was talking to some bimbo.  
  
"I want all information on Ashleigh Summers."  
  
"Before her 'disappearance', or after?" she asked.  
  
"Both." Angel said without hesitation. "And any files that have to do with the Children Policy."  
  
"And anything on Buffy Summers or Dawn Summers." Dawn put in quickly. And that was their downfall.  
  
Fifteen minutes later they walking into Angel's office with 30 or so files each. Some were thicker than others.  
  
"So, where do we start?" Angel asked, but Dawn had already singled out three folders, and held them in her lap. She just stared at the two familiar names, and the one that she had never known. She was scared at what she might find in each of them.  
  
He held out his hand, and she passed him the two older folders, hers on top. As he held them, she looked at hers in un-surprised awe. The monks had aged her folder; there was even a darkened ring that looked to be coffee.  
  
"Dawn, you do realize that the monks could not have made you have a positive test, whatever that is, because that would have defeated their purpose, right? Whatever's in here is just a formality." She wasn't surprised that he knew about her key-ness. Guess Buffy wasn't so mad at him to trust him with her secret.  
  
"I know. Bu-I don't remember. Everything else I do. Dad working late hours, mom crying. When Buffy was teaching me to ride a bike without training wheels, she let go and I got this scar." She pointed to her chin, "So why can't I remember getting tested?"  
  
"Maybe you weren't supposed to. Maybe no one that was tested and failed does." He slowly opened the folder and read it's contents. She watched him read, oddly unattached. Whatever that folder said, it wasn't her. It just had her name on it. She wasn't the girl talked about in the folder, she never was, and she never would be.  
  
"Bright energetic child. Will go on to do great things." He read the doctor's comments, trying to make her smile. She just stared at him. "They tested you for signs of magic, and they found none." He looked quickly at Buffy's, "Same with your sister."  
  
"So what does that mean?"  
  
"They're fools, Dawn. I know why they missed you being the Key, because otherwise they would have taken distinct interest in you, but Buffy's potential? They're idiots. This is what they said about Buffy, 'Sweet child. Lots of energy. May go on to be professional Cheerleader.'" That made her smile.  
  
But then they both looked at the remaining folder in her lap.  
  
"Do you want me to?" he asked sympathetically.  
  
"No, she's my sister. I've never known her, and yet I feel if I'm not the first to look at her file, I'll fail her somehow." He only nodded. She slowly opened the folder.  
  
On top there was a birth certificate. She quickly flipped to the next page.  
  
Name: Ashleigh Melinda Summers  
  
Born: June 21st, 2001  
  
Father: Hank Summers  
  
Occupation: lawyer  
  
DOB: August 23rd 1947  
  
Mother: Alicia Jones  
  
Occupation: private secretary  
  
DOB: November 17th, 1965  
  
Test date: July 31st, 2002.  
  
"She was only a year old." She murmured. A bunch of tests results followed. They were all mumbo-jumbo to Dawn.  
  
Comments: Strong willed and Headstrong. Lots of energy. Prime Candidate.  
  
"Prime candidate for what?" she asked.  
  
"What?" he looked over her shoulder.  
  
"Prime candidate." She pointed out the comments, "but for what?" she leafed through the papers. "Oh, maybe that." She held up a newspaper clipping telling how the one and a half year old had been kidnapped from her parent's tiny flat. Then another saying how she had been found on the streets, and parents were suspected of Neglect. Underneath was a leaf of papers, for adoption. "Why would he just sign his daughter away? How could he do that?" Angel flinched.  
  
"How could he forget about his two older daughters? I don't understand how any man could forget about two women as beautiful as you and your sister."  
  
"You're just saying that because you're still in love with her."  
  
"So what if I am? You were one of the first to trust me when I came back. And you're here now, that has to suggest at some sort of trust."  
  
"I trust you, just not the...man you've become, running this law firm.  
  
"Buffy doesn't know you're here, does she?" he asked as she flipped through the papers.  
  
"No." she was staring at something in the file now. "But I think she should know. Soon."  
  
"Why? Do you no longer fear her wrath?"  
  
"This is the girl from my vision." She tapped the 8x10 color photo.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
So, what do you think? Lol. Please review!!! 


	2. Part Two

Stolen Innocence  
  
Part Two  
  
Disclaimer: Not sure what it was for the first part, but check there. If that's not sufficient, TOO BAD! Lol.  
  
GidgetGirl still came up with the idea, I'm just expanding!  
  
Author's notes: short update tonight. Maybe more tomorrow morning, but I have some serious homework issues to contend with. Like I have to read...fifty pages by Wednesday. Not too hard for me, the wonder reader, but then there's all the judging I have to do as well. I'm just a tad stressed out, lol!  
  
Or maybe it's a regular sized update...hm....  
  
And Bluie's the first to review my newest story, which is finished, Conflicting Memories! Lol. Thanks, Bluie! I wrote it on the bus...and Oh! Might wanna go change the rating on that...SHIT!  
  
Done, lol.  
  
And I probably will be updating/reposting chapter eight of One of a Kind tomorrow, I have too many reviews not to! Lol. Some are old though...  
  
Thanks to: Willow Fireheart, and Bluie for reviewing!  
  
And Bluie, we'll get some of that questioning in this chapter, ok? But I never even thought of that...hmm....  
  
OH! Anyone reading...that has been to Australia, or lives there...what would be a good place to put a hellmouth... Why? I'm not telling yet! Lol. I just really need to know! But you will find out eventually!  
  
And here is our, well, your update!  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
"Buffy, we need your help."  
  
"You and Faith?" she could hear the skepticism.  
  
"No...I haven't actually seen Faith yet. See, the last time I was in LA, I went to see Cordy and Wesley. But, well...Cordy died two years ago. But before she died, she had these vision things, and I somehow inherited them. And we just really need your help."  
  
"You and Angel." Dawn could almost see the conflicting emotions on her sister's face. She knew her sister still loved Angel, and yet she would never trust him while he was at Wolfram and Hart. And she would never trust herself, if they were together.  
  
"Yes, but mostly me. And this innocent little girl that you've never met. She's in danger, and she's all alone and afraid. And she needs your help."  
  
"You're playing the guilt card."  
  
"But you love me anyway."  
  
She heard a sigh and knew she had won. "Do I need to charter a flight, or is a tiresome, red eye, midnight flight good enough for you?"  
  
Dawn voiced the question to Angel. "Normal flight's fine. We don't know exactly where she is, though, so keep that chartered flight in your back pocket."  
  
"My jeans aren't big enough for that."  
  
"Not my problem, now is it?" Angel listened to the two sister's banter, amused. "I'll pick you up from the airport, ok? Bye, I love you too." She hung up the phone, satisfied.  
  
"You tell each other you love them, before you hang up?" he asked.  
  
"Don't say anything." She threatened.  
  
"I think it's sweet."  
  
"Ugh!" she groaned.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Buffy's flight got in during the afternoon, so Dawn waited for her outside the gate, while Angel stayed in the car.  
  
They carried her bags out to the car. Dawn felt her sister tense beside her when she saw the figure behind the steering wheel.  
  
"Angel." She said, sliding into the passenger seat.  
  
"Buffy. How...how have you been?"  
  
"Good." She nodded. "You?"  
  
"Good." He nodded as well. Dawn almost burst out laughing.  
  
"So, this girl..."  
  
"Her name's Ashleigh." Dawn stuck her head into the front seat, "And we're going to rescue her."  
  
"There's one thing you should know first..." Dawn's eyes widened, and she shook her head franticly. This wasn't the time to tell her! "Ashleigh Summers is your half sister."  
  
"WAIT! Wait a damn minute! She's our-WHAT?!"  
  
"Our sister. She's only like five. She has long blond hair, like the kind you used to have when you were little, and she's really cute." Dawn pulled the picture from her back pocket, handing it to Buffy, "see?"  
  
"She is sorta cute." She said, resolve slowly breaking. "I can't hold it against her that dad's a jerk."  
  
"He just signed her over to Wolfram and Hart."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"A firm the size and prestige of Wolfram and Hart can be very persuasive. Especially with the lawyers they have. But for the record, I had no idea about this policy until two days ago. I'm trying to change the firm, first from the outside, and now from within, but I can only change this branch." Angel said quietly.  
  
"I don't blame you, Angel." Dawn said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Neither of us do." But Buffy stayed silent as they pulled into the parking garage."  
  
"Where should I dump my crap?" she asked as she stepped out of the elevator.  
  
"Uh, I'll show you."  
  
"Hey boss. Wesley was looking for you-Buffy!"  
  
"Uh, hi, Harmony." She shot Angel a look. Dawn noticed the vampire didn't try to hug her sister.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, I've been off human blood for over three years now. Well, there was that one time, I that wasn't my fault, I swear!"  
  
"Harmony." He got her attention, "What did Wes want?"  
  
"Oh, yeah right. He found stuff on that policy thing. Seems Wolfram and Hart owns this huge house in-"  
  
"I'll be in my apartment. Forward all messages there, and Wes as well, if he comes by."  
  
"Sure thing, boss." He ushered the two Summers women past her and into his office elevator.  
  
"Nice." Buffy whistled as she looked around the apartment.  
  
"Yeah. You two can have the bedroom, I'll sleep on the couch-"  
  
"It's your apartment, we couldn't." Buffy argued  
  
"Yes, and you are my guests. Distinguished guests, The Slayer and The Key. A vampire can't get better company than that."  
  
"Just take it. He offered me the couch bed last night." She wrinkled her nose at him, and he gave her what almost passed as an innocent smile. She gave him a winning smile that radiated innocence, then grabbed Buffy's arm and pulled her into the bedroom.  
  
"So, what'cha thinking about?" Dawn asked later, sitting on the king sized bed as Buffy organized the things she brought with her.  
  
"This and that." She said vacantly.  
  
"You and Angel?"  
  
"There is no Angel and I. There's Angel, and here's me, but there's no us."  
  
"Why not? You still have feelings for him. You love him. And he told me he still loves you. You're both here, so why the hell not?"  
  
"Because it would make us happy." She murmured, slipping off her shoes.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
"Wolfram and Hart, besides owning a large office building, owns 30 acres of land on Okinawa." Wesley told them later.  
  
"You mean like in Japan?" Dawn asked, surprised.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Like with samurais and peasants and rice fields?"  
  
"Samurais couldn't survive once the gun came into play. There may be some who still study the old ways, but they wouldn't be totally traditional. The peasants, there are peasants all over the world, though the samurais helped keep the population on Okinawa down." They stared at him. "I went to Okinawa at the turn of the century."  
  
"Which?" Dawn asked, but she was ignored.  
  
"So we go to Okinawa, stake out this place. Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast. Get her out of there."  
  
"I can't go."  
  
"What? Why not?" Buffy asked. "You were the whole hard and fast part of the plan!"  
  
"Fast and hard?" Dawn smirked.  
  
Buffy's eyes widened. "Oh! No, no, no, no, no! I sooo didn't mean it that way! I meant...you know what I mean!" Buffy cried her face beat red. Dawn just laughed at her.  
  
"The Senior Partners like to keep tabs on me. They have...leverage over me, to make sure I stay out of their trouble." Buffy looked at him, concerned. She had heard the sad note in his voice, but she didn't question him.  
  
"So you get Amanda and Kennedy. They're in Cleveland, but there are like five other girls there. With three slayers, you can't go wrong." Dawn said.  
  
"With my sister there, I won't go wrong. You're 18, Dawn, and its time I stop babying you. Besides, Ashleigh is as much your sister as she is mine. And soon I'll have her to baby instead." Dawn was touched.  
  
"You aren't going to tell your father?"  
  
"He gave up his rights to her the day he let these bastards have her. Dawn and I will raise her." She smiled slightly, playing with Dawn's hair.  
  
"But we can't take her home." Dawn acknowledged. "Once they figure out it was a slayer, they're put two and two together. We could stay here, though. They wouldn't think we'd have the guts to go to a Wolfram and Hart building."  
  
"Or it would be the first place they'd think of, if they know about me and Angel." Buffy looked at Dawn, who looked away. She was up to something.  
  
"No, she's right. You can stay here, or the Hyperoin." Angel offered.  
  
"Let's worry about that once we have her, ok? If we don't get her the first time, then it'll be that much harder to get her the next time." She bit her lip. "I'd really feel better if we had a more experienced slayer." Buffy said.  
  
"Let me see what I can do." Wesley sat back in his chair.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Dun dun dun... 


	3. Part Three

Stolen Innocence  
  
Part Three  
  
Posted: April 30, 2004  
  
Author's notes: Ok, summery has been changed, but it doesn't change the story. And this chapter...I just love. Trying to live up a bit to Gidget's awesome challenge, and I hope I did it justice, but we'll see! Please review. I need my candy.  
  
And in this chapter, I've done A LOT of Kennedy bashing lately. The girl just pissed me off like no other can. So she's sorta repenting in this chapter, and will probably not show up very much in the rest of the story all together, but I won't bash her. I solemnly swear. At least until I feel like bashing her!  
  
Oh, and with all the judging I've done, if there is ANY error in this, a punctuation mark out of place, please tell me. I've been so freaked out and nit-picking everyone else's stories, I'd feel really horrible if my story wasn't punctuation-ly correct!  
  
Reader's Responses:  
  
Willow Fireheart: OMG!!! My student teacher said the exact same thing! I told her I was having problems finding a place in Australia, and she said Ayers Rock. And are you reading my mind? Because I'm almost totally done with writing the fight scene, and you're starting to be right on the money, which is freaking me out! And no more looking forward to, except for the nester chapter, cuz this one's here, lol!  
  
BAShipper: Ok, not even going to go there...you love cliffhangers?! And to your Q, you'll find out in this chapter! I love WRITING cliffies, hate reading them...don't know how you guys manage...I'm an evil cliffhanger person!  
  
GidgetGirl: I'm glad you think it's good so far. In this chapter, Ash is almost pure, undiluted Dawn. The last part anyway. Then she takes on a mind of her own. As usual. I just can't keep these kids in line1 lol. And just let me say, read your Mother's little Capitalists stories, since I'm judging at Barefoot Awards, I feel SO bad for Xander for having to put up with both of them...  
  
And I'm gonna try to think up something to change the summery. And we will, much farther along, the part that I'm writing now, to the sorta freakiness of it all. Dawn gets to be the youngest sister again, in her own mind, for a short while. But we'll get there in time.  
  
Hopefully that works!!!  
  
And that's it for reviews right now!!!  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
"Be careful." Angel said as they waited to board the private jet.  
  
"Careful's her middle name." She said, bumping the blond slayer with her hip.  
  
"You're the exact opposite, so that works!" Dawn said in a fake cheery voice. Dull daggers were sent her way, but she just smiled innocently.  
  
"Miss? You're flight's ready."  
  
"Ok, here we go." Buffy said, grabbing her things. Giles had chartered the plane, and made sure they could bring weapons aboard. On impulse, Dawn dropped her things and threw her arms around Angel.  
  
"We're going to bring her back. I promise." She told him, more for her benefit than his.  
  
He went with it and put his arms around her. "I have no doubt."  
  
Dawn slowly let him go, grabbed her stuff, and joined the two older women. They all waved goodbye, and then they got on the place.  
  
"What are you up to?" She asked Dawn once Buffy was out of hearing, talking to the pilot.  
  
"They need each other. Watching Buffy these two years...she's depressed, even if she won't admit it. She's resigned that she's going to be alone for the rest of her life. She'll pick up the book he gave her senior year, and stare off into space for five minutes with this semi-dreamy look on her face, before sighing and putting it away. No yelling at me to put my things away after I'm done, no yelling at me for leaving things around the apartment. She doesn't say anything. And according to Nina, Angel's not much better."  
  
"Nina?"  
  
"She's this chic Buffy knew from Hemery. She was also my old babysitter. She became a werewolf two years ago, and Angel saved from murdering her family, and now she locks herself up at Wolfram and Hart during those three nights. But she has this crush on Angel, so she hangs around a lot. He sometimes takes her to breakfast after the full moon. But she says that he tries too hard to be happy when he's with her. A girl can tell those things. She knows something's weighing on his mind. She asked if I knew, but I couldn't do that to her. It would hurt her too much."  
  
"Well, what can I do to help? I owe your sister. And Angel."  
  
"We have to get Ashleigh. We're staying with Angel until we figure out why they took her, why they need her."  
  
"And with you mucking up the works..."  
  
"It takes a long time going through law firm back files." She said innocently.  
  
"So that means we have to get the kid."  
  
"Yeah. Easier said then done." They sat in their seats as Buffy came back, and the plane started taxiing down the runway.  
  
~ * ~  
  
They stopped just long enough in Cleveland to pick up Amanda and Kennedy. The takeoff was made in an uncomfortable silence, there were so many things to say, and yet no one was comfortable saying them, even Kennedy.  
  
So instead Amanda babbled about her own little sister, and how much of a pain she had been. After she had moved into the Summer's House, she had lost track of her parents, and was pretty much fine with that.  
  
"I hope it'll be different this time," Buffy said thoughtfully, "I've already got a sister of the annoying variety. Isn't there something about the more distance between ages, the better the relationship between siblings? I'm 20 years older than her, for God's sake."  
  
"I wouldn't be surprised if I found out one day that I had a half brother or sister. Dad ditched us when I was real little, and he wasn't that good a guy." The brunette mused.  
  
"So, uh, how's Willow?" Kennedy turned to Buffy.  
  
"She's good, as far as I know."  
  
"I'm really sorry about the way I acted..."  
  
"Hey, no big. It was a huge change in your life, and power tends to do that to you, it wasn't the first time I'd seen it happed. And Will moped, she did some soul searching, and now she's off looking for an old friend in this monastery or someplace."  
  
"And...How I treated you, before...I'm sorry."  
  
Buffy sighed, "Deep down, I thought myself to be the best. I was the best, because I was the slayer. And by dieing twice, I felt that that made me the most qualified for the job. You kept me on my toes, is all."  
  
"So, uh, what's the plan?" Amanda asked.  
  
~ * ~  
  
The blond and the four brunettes crouched under the window.  
  
"So how is this going to work again?" Dawn asked, more from nerves than anything. Buffy sighed.  
  
"You, Amanda and Kennedy distract them, while Faith and I get Ashleigh."  
  
"How are you gonna get her to go with you?"  
  
"Hopefully, I can convince her I'm her sister, and she'll come with us."  
  
"And if you can't?"  
  
Faith was the one to speak up, "Want. Take. Have."  
  
~ * ~  
  
While the guards were busy helping Amanda, who was 'blind' and couldn't find her way, Buffy and Faith snuck in the back. Dawn snuck into the records room, and took Ashleigh's file, and radioed the room number to her sister. While they were finding that, Kennedy was to come in, and demand to see her brother, whose name Dawn also found for her. When Buffy and Faith found the room, Faith whistled at the room.  
  
The little girl scrambled off the bed. She wore nothing but a long white night gown. "You're here to rescue me." She said, smiling up at the visitors in her room.  
  
"Uh...yeah, we are. How'd you know that?" The girl took Buffy aback.  
  
"I saw it. I was supposed to tell them, but I didn't. And that makes me bad, so they punished me." She said, staring at the floor. "But I still wouldn't tell." She whispered.  
  
"Well, they won't punish you anymore. Do you have any clothes, or anything you'd like to take with you?" Buffy knelt down by the child. She shook her head.  
  
"We're not allowed to own things. It makes us forget about our task."  
  
"And what would that be?" Buffy asked sweetly.  
  
"Something big. It's a secret. They'll hurt me if I tell you."  
  
"I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise." Buffy held out her hand, and the girl took it.  
  
"No. You won't. You're strong." She said, agreeing to Buffy's statement.  
  
"B, we should really go..." The little radio earpiece was squawking in her ear as Kennedy demanded to see her brother, and Amanda wandered about the compound, still blind.  
  
"Don't worry, Ashleigh, we're going to keep you safe, but you have to trust us, ok?" The girl nodded silently, and Buffy led her off.  
  
"Hey! What are you doing with that child?!" A doctor-looking guy called from the end of the hall.  
  
"Run, B!" Faith growled, as she turned to confront the guy. One quick blow to his kidney, and he was out cold. Faith grinned, knowing that the kidney was one of two ways to knock someone else, the more painful one at that. But then she wiped the smirk off her face, as she raced after Buffy and the kid.  
  
They made it outside, but Ashleigh stumbled, so Faith scooped her up as they ran away from the House of Terrors.  
  
Before they knew it, they were on the plane, and safely thousands of feet in the air. Well, as safe as you could be while flying. Ashleigh sat primly in the very front seat, facing the back of the place. Dawn sat facing her. Buffy sat in the middle of the plane, by the window, to get the best reception, as she called first Giles, and then Angel, to let them know they had her, but she also had a big secret that she wouldn't tell. Faith, Kennedy and Amanda sat in the way back, Faith resting, with her eyes closed, Kennedy listening to her CD player, and Amanda reading a book.  
  
"You're special, too." Ashleigh said, looking at Dawn.  
  
"Wh-what?"  
  
"Don't try to de-ny it. You're like me. Special. Different. We're both needed for something big. But your time has passed. You're just a key without a lock now." She said, her head titled to one side, and Dawn's eyes widened. "But me...my time's coming. Soon. And I'm scared."  
  
"H-h-how did you- wha-what the?!"  
  
"I told you, we're special. It's your red water, but they also want my mind. In my head. Cuz I sees things."  
  
"Red water?" she muttered, "oh! Blood. Yeah, Glory wanted my blood. But what do you mean, they want your mind?"  
  
"I can't tell you." She whispered, frightened.  
  
"I'm not going to hurt you, and we won't let them hurt you either. I promise."  
  
"Promises, promises. They don't mean anything."  
  
"I'm serious, Ashleigh. Faith, Buffy and I will protect you, and Angel too."  
  
"An angel?"  
  
"Sort of. Not really but...Why do they want your mind, Ashleigh? And what do they want it for?"  
  
"I can't tell you. I told you that."  
  
"No one's going to hurt you."  
  
"I can't. Stop it, leave me alone." She began to get defensive.  
  
"We really need to know, Ashleigh, so we can keep you safe."  
  
"LEAVE ME ALONE! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!" she screeched, and Dawn jumped back, stumbling back towards Buffy. Faith was on alert instantly, and both Kennedy and Amanda dropped what they were doing, but Buffy just laughed.  
  
"Now you know what it's like to be on the receiving end, don't you?" She asked her sister, who just glared at her.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 


	4. Part Four

Stolen Innocence  
  
Part Four  
  
Author: blackbeltchic  
  
Posted: May 4, 2004  
  
Disclaimer: see first chapter  
  
Author's notes: Well, once again, I'm 'grounded' from the computer. It's the whole, when she grounds me, I defy her by telling her "I Don't Care" which of course makes it worse. So I don't have that much time to type stuff up, and the only time I can post is Study Hall. So I hope you don't expect to too much from me for awhile. I will still, hopefully, be producing quality chapters for you guys, just at a slower pace, because I won't have time to type them up. Give it a week or so, and then she should forget. She does that. Lucky me.  
  
Reader Responses:  
  
Sonia-Christina- I'm glad your liking it. I hope you will like this chapters as much as you liked the others. This chapter is just full of sweetness....I'm almost afraid I might get a cavity. Hopefully it's not too much for you!  
  
Maybe I over-exaggerate....a little bit...  
  
And that's all for now!! Keep up the reviews, guys!!!  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
When the plane landed, it was 2 in the morning, so Buffy carefully picked up the sleeping child, while Dawn and Faith got their bags. Angel met them at the car, "It's late, you're all staying in my apartment tonight." He said, without giving them a choice, though none would have objected, sleep sounded real nice.  
  
"She's a screamer, like Dawn," Buffy whispered, as she slowly lowered the girl onto Angel's big bed, where she would stay with the child. Faith and Dawn had the couch, and Angel said he'd find something.  
  
"But she has your hair." Angel said without thinking.  
  
"But she's also got a huge secret, the one I told you about. She freaked at Dawn on the plane, when she wouldn't stop pestering her, but afterwards, she started crying, and swearing that she didn't mean it. She didn't want to get into trouble, and she said please don't put me in there. I was so mad..." she couldn't express her feelings.  
  
"Yeah, I bet."  
  
"What could they have done to her-?"  
  
"Wolfram and Hart isn't known for their niceties, Buffy."  
  
"But she's just a child! There's no excuse for that, Angel!"  
  
"Are you an Angel?" the voice came from the bed.  
  
"Just go back to sleep, Ashleigh." Buffy urged.  
  
"Are you?"  
  
"Yeah, he is, just go back to sleep." Buffy said, exasperated. She so wasn't the babysitter type.  
  
"Ok." Her breathing soon eased, and they took that to mean she was asleep.  
  
"Why'd you tell her that?" Angel asked.  
  
"So she would go back to sleep."  
  
"You shouldn't lie."  
  
"Well, you've done it enough, haven't you? I'm tired. Can we finish this some other time?"  
  
"Sure." He walked to the door, "Good night."  
  
"Good night." She whispered, but he was out of hearing.  
  
~ * ~  
  
"Buffy? Where's the angel?" Ashleigh pounced on her way too early the next morning.  
  
"Hu-Wha?" she groaned, rolling over, and Ashleigh fell to the floor. She stood, and walked into the living room, where more people were sleeping. She quickly found the elevator, and rode it downstairs. The doors opened to a huge office, bigger than any of the rooms at her old house, besides the testing labs, but there was much more furniture here. A man was sitting behind the huge desk.  
  
"Are you the angel from last night?" she asked, running up to him.  
  
"Uh, ah, my name's Angel..." she grabbed his hand.  
  
"No, you're not an angel. But that's ok, you're trying." She climbed up onto his lap. "Whatcha doing?" she asked, yawning.  
  
"Uh, filing, and stuff." He didn't exactly know what to make of the young blond on his lap.  
  
"That's inter-esting." She yawned once more, and laid her head on his chest. "Continue." She wasn't prohibiting the use of his arms, so he went back to work, and soon Ashleigh was asleep in his arms.  
  
Buffy came down an hour later, and Ashleigh was still there, nestled in his arms.  
  
"There she is." She sighed. "She woke me up, and then she left, and I didn't know where she had gone..."  
  
"She's fine." Angel tried to sooth her. "She came down, looking for the angel from last night, and then crawled up here, and fell asleep." She looked at the tiny girl in his arms, and couldn't stop herself from thinking just how cute they looked together.  
  
"Uh, yeah, sorry about that. And... I didn't mean to snap at you, it was just a really long day."  
  
"I understand."  
  
"Does this place have any good food? I'm starved."  
  
"I would say that I'd take you to this nice little restaurant, but with her, and work..."  
  
"It's ok, I can go by myself."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"It's daylight, and I am the slayer."  
  
"I know. Just be careful, ok?"  
  
"I-I will." She rushed out, her feelings all bickering in her head, confusing her more than she was already confused.  
  
~ * ~  
  
She spent that week fixing up two rooms in the hotel, one for her and Ashleigh, another for Dawn.  
  
The day she was finally satisfied that it was safe for a four year old, she took Ashleigh from Wolfram and Hart, and not yet having a car, they walked the blocks to the hotel.  
  
"Where are we going, Buffy?"  
  
"To our new home."  
  
"Will Angel be there?"  
  
"Uh, no. He won't."  
  
"You don't like him close, do you?" The girl was more perceptive that Buffy realized.  
  
""That's not it. I-uh, well, see-I...it's just complicated, ok?"  
  
"I have a very high I.Pu. I think I'd understand."  
  
"We used to be together, but now we can't be." She simplified it for the girl, no matter how smart she thought herself to be.  
  
"Is it because of his soul? Things have changed. He's sad, deep down."  
  
"That makes two of us, kid. Come on, we're almost there." She tried to discourage the topic, since it was her love life.  
  
"He's trying, you know. And once the-it... Once it happens, things will be different."  
  
"It what?"  
  
"I can't tell you."  
  
"Ashleigh." She warned, using a tone her mother had used with her often enough.  
  
"No. Not yet." And that's all she'd say on the subject for days.  
  
~ * ~  
  
"We have to get it out of her, Angel. Whatever it is." She told him one night while he was visiting. Dawn was giving Ashleigh a bath. Those two got along great, and that scared Buffy slightly.  
  
"She'll come around, trust me."  
  
"What could they have said or done to silence a 4 year old? I can't get anything out of her, besides that afterwards, 'things will change.'"  
  
"Do you think it could be an apocalypse?"  
  
She nodded, "And that terrifies me. They're using a bunch of children for...whatever. And it has her so scared, she won't speak of it."  
  
"Take into consideration that she's four years old, and granted that you may be the nicest person she's ever met, she's just met you, not even two weeks ago. Give her time to come around." She nodded, taking his words into consideration, as the blond in question ran into the room, her hair still dripping wet. A damp Dawn followed close behind.  
  
"Angel!" she cried, clambering up onto his lap. "Read me a bed time story?"  
  
"Uh-"  
  
"Please?" she stared up at him with her big eyes, and an innocent face, and he crumbled.  
  
"Ok," he sighed. She bounced up and down on his lap in glee. She held her hands out to him, so that when he stood up, he held her in his arms, her head rested against his chest, "she is definitely your sister." He said in passing to Buffy.  
  
~ * ~  
  
The blond ran into the room, and climbed into his recently vacated office chair, spinning herself around, squealing with glee.  
  
"Hey, Angel, can you watch her for me, for the day or so?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I have to go job searching."  
  
"Work here."  
  
"I-I can't. I'm the slayer. A law firm is no place for me."  
  
"Then start up Angel Investigations again. I'll help you, and you can run it from the hotel, like I used to."  
  
"I-I'll think about it, ok? Bye, Ashleigh! Be good for Angel!"  
  
"I will!" she called, waving. Angel watched the slayer go, downcast. "She'll come around," the four year old said, unknowingly copying his words for her, "she likes you, she just won't admit it yet." She scrambled from the chair. "What are we going to do?" She asked, grabbing onto his leg, and squeezing.  
  
"Uh..."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
Well, what do you think? Please tell me! Just because I'm grounded, that doesn't mean I can't get on for "homework" which always includes email!!! My....Study Hall requires me to check email...yeah, that's it... 


	5. Part Five

Stolen Innocence  
  
Part Five  
  
Posted: May 7, 2004  
  
Disclaimer: see first chapter  
  
Challenge: see first chapter  
  
Author's notes: Ok, here's the next chapter! My mom's pretty much forgotten all about my month grounding, but then she's working night this week, so she's not home! Lol. Please enjoy!!!  
  
Reader Responses:  
  
BAShipper: Yeah, being grounded sucks. Glad you can feel the 'vibes' coming from our favorite couple. And this chapter's just gonna make it all the better for us, and not so much for those that dislike these two being together. Thanks for your review!  
  
GidgetGirl: thanks for the grammar help. Now that I'm done with judging, of which you had many stories, I don't care about grammar! I just felt really bad about sitting there, going "no, not that new, this knew..." and explaining why, and then having bad grammar myself. I might end up changing the mistakes you showed me, but I tend to be lazy...  
  
And I'm still super uber-thankful that you did thw whole grammar as you go for chapter...3. I tend to do that when I have NOTHING else to do...thanks so very much! I'll probably change those mistakes, just so your hard work wasn't for nothing!  
  
Only two reviews this time...pouts  
  
Oh, in this chapter, there's a...reference to something...let's see if you can figure it out!  
  
(yes, this is my ploy to get more reviews, but you love me anyway, right?)

  
  
"Hey, Ash, ya wanna go to the zoo?" Dawn asked at lunchtime, as she breezed into the office, saving Angel from the rest of the day with the 'demon child' as he had come to think of her as.  
  
"YA!" she cried, jumping for joy. "Can Angel come with us?!" Angel couldn't understand how a child could understand and sense so much, and yet still be so naive at the same time.  
  
"Uh...well..." Dawn trailed off, unsure of how to explain it to the girl that her favorite person couldn't come with them.  
  
"I have tons of work I have to get done. Maybe later, though?" he said, knowing it would never happen.  
  
"Ok!" she agreed grabbing Dawn's hand. She skipped out of the office, dragging Dawn behind her.  
  
Angel sat down at his desk, and pulled out his research. He settled down to work on deciphering Wolfram and Hart's plans for the children, but he didn't get far. About an hour after he was freed from the little girl, another blond stuck her head into his office. One he hadn't seen in a month.  
  
"Hi, Angel," she tried to smile, but it didn't hide the pain on her face.  
  
"Oh, Nina, hi. Is it that time already?"  
  
"Yeah. I, uh, told my sister. She sorta freaked."  
  
"She'll come around."  
  
"She, uh, kicked me out." She held up her backpack.  
  
"Do you need a place to stay?" he asked.  
  
Relief showed clearly on her face, "That'd be nice."  
  
"I'll get something fixed up for you, ok?"  
  
"Thanks." But her face had fallen just a little bit. Angel was oblivious to it though, while he shuffled papers.  
  
"But your 'suit' is ready, though it's still early." He said, looking out the window.  
  
"Yeah it is. A-are you free? You wanna do something?"  
  
"No, I'm really not. I have this huge thing I'm working on, I'm sorry."  
  
"That's fine. I'll just go find something to amuse myself with. See you later." She gave him a little wave, and left. He sighed, ready to get back to work, and managed 25 minutes of uninterrupted working time, when yet another blond came into his office. He sighed in irritation at the interruption.  
  
She didn't notice his frustration as she plopped down in a chair. "Nobody wants to hire a 25 year old, with no prior experience!" she grumbled.  
  
"Then start up Angel investigations." He sighed.  
  
"But that's not getting away from my destiny. And I know that normal jobs haven't always worked well for me, but I just want something that sets me apart from my destiny." Then she sat up straight, "Wait, where's Ashleigh?"  
  
"Dawn took her to the zoo. Saving me from playing hide and seek and not getting any work done."  
  
"She's attached to you." Buffy noted.  
  
"To say the least. Oh, I got some of Wolfram and Hart's files, trying to figure out what they're up to. Wanna help?"  
  
A smiled lit her face for the first time that day, "Sure."  
  
"I wanna go see the polar bears." She said, dragging on Dawn's hand.  
  
"We already saw them. Let's go look at the snakes."  
  
"No! The polar bears!"  
  
"We're going to see the reptiles." Dawn dragged the child towards the reptile house.  
  
"NO! I WANNA SEE THE POLAR BEARS!" Dawn smiled at the people who turned to look; embarrassed by the attention Ashleigh was drawing.  
  
"Do you want some cotton candy?"  
  
"NO!!! LEAVE ME ALONE! GO AWAY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, and now everyone was staring at them.  
  
"Look, you," Dawn said, kneeling down before her, "You'd better behave, or I'm going to tell Angel, and you won't be able to hang out with him tomorrow." The little girl started pouting. And then she was crying. Dawn stood, exasperated.  
  
"First kid?" a kind woman asked.  
  
"Oh, uh, no. She's my sister. And let's just say, I so want to be the youngest again."  
  
The woman laughed. "Sorry," she sobered, "You can't let her act like that. Take control of the situation."  
  
"I'm trying. Hopefully she'll tire soon," she looked at the screaming girl.  
  
An hour later, she sighed as she stared through the glass at the arctic bears.  
  
"Blood. Why is it always blood?"  
  
"What? Let me see it." She passed his the text she was looking through.  
  
"See, right there. Blood. Why the hell is it always got to be blood?"  
  
"Just keep looking. We're close, I can feel it." He dismissed the ritual calling for the blood of three witch sisters and an angel to bring about Armageddon. He passed her the book back, and their hands brushed. She jolted back like she'd been stung, the book clattering to the table.  
  
"This is foolish. We're acting like teenagers!" she complained.  
  
"You're the one that pulled away."  
  
"That's besides the point."  
  
"You're right, we're both adults, we should be able to work together, putting aside whatever feelings we have for each other, and our past."  
  
"Then why is the only thing I can think of is kissing you?" she murmured. He leaned over the huge table and she leaned forwards also, to meet him. Their lips met, and she reached her arms around him, trying to pull him across the table. Slowly they stopped, and he retreated across the table. They sat there in an uncomfortable silence for what seemed like ages. Buffy couldn't get the thought of the feel of his cool lips on hers out of her mind.  
  
"Buffy that was uncalled for-"  
  
"There you are, I just wanted to let you know I'm going down now."  
  
"Uh, ok." Buffy turned to see the newcomer, interrupting whatever was going on between them.  
  
"Nina?" she asked, recognizing her old school friend.  
  
"Buffy! Oh my God, it's been ages!" the two women hugged, and Angel suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "How have you been?"  
  
"Good, considering, you?"  
  
"Well, werewolf."  
  
"No way! Wow. My friend's ex-boyfriend was a werewolf. Well, he still is, but he figured something out...I never really understood it all."  
  
"Yeah, I hear ya. It's been so long! Whatcha been up to?"  
  
"Battling the forces of evil. Here, and then overseas." Buffy decided to come clean, if Nina knew she was a werewolf, then she would be more open to the idea, she hoped.  
  
"Wow, overseas. And evil, like are you in the military or something?"  
  
"No, the demonic variety."  
  
"Wow, cool. What type of demons?"  
  
"Vampires mostly." Nina shot a hurried glance at Angel, then back to Buffy. "Oh, don't worry, me and Angel go way back. He's safe."  
  
"That's awesome. How's your sister been? I saw here during April break. Did she do well this semester?"  
  
"You saw her in April?"  
  
"She didn't tell you?"  
  
"No, she wasn't exactly supposed to be here. Speak of the devil." Buffy said and Nina turned, to watch a speeding blond blur fly by, attaching itself to Angel's leg, and a bedraggled Dawn following. "How was the zoo?"  
  
"The polar bears were cool." Dawn said dully.  
  
"What else did you see?"  
  
"Polar bears. And ice. And fish in the polar bear enclosure. Seems that Ashleigh likes Polar bears."  
  
"Yup!" Ashleigh exclaimed from Angel's leg.  
  
"Could you let go of my leg?" he asked. She did so, and held up her arms. He sighed, and picked her up. "You're too big to pick up." But she was already in his arms.  
  
"That girl has you whipped." Nina commented, and Ashleigh stared at her.  
  
"You're here to break things apart." She said ominously.  
  
"Ashleigh, that's not very nice. Ash, this is my old friend Nina. Nina, this is Ashleigh."  
  
"Your daughter?"  
  
"Oh, no. She's my younger sister."  
  
"I don't like her here." The girl whispered in Angel's ear. "She's here to keep people apart. And that'll ruin it."  
  
"Ruin what?"  
  
"The ascension."  
  
After Nina and Buffy had caught up, and Dawn had taken Ashleigh up to Angel's apartment, Angel told her what the girl had said.  
  
"She opens up to you, but not her sister."  
  
"At least we now know what we're dealing with, ok? We have to find out what this ascension is about, and who's ascending. And to what."  
  
"Then we kill it, right?"  
  
"If we can. Wolfram and Hart doesn't deal in just one demon, Buffy, it would be too small for them to care about."  
  
"So you're saying this might be a whole race of demons?"  
  
"Maybe, unless it's one of the senior partners. I have a feeling we're in over our head."  
  
"So I'm not the only one. There goes my normal job." She sighed.  
  
Angel began watching Ashleigh while Buffy, Dawn and Wesley researched at the big table in his office. In the afternoon, Buffy would go and work on the rooms in the hotel, since she had a feeling she would end up needing them in the coming days. Whatever they found out didn't make anyone feel any better about what was to come.  
  
"Harm, do you know where Ashleigh is?" Buffy asked one afternoon, coming to get the girl so Angel wouldn't have to bring her home.  
  
"Angel took her upstairs for a nap. He doesn't want to be disturbed." "Ok, thanks." Buffy smiled at the thought of the vampire, but the train of thought scared her, and she wiped the smile off her face. They had spoken of nothing more than the upcoming ascension and Ashleigh since they had kissed. She got into the elevator, and waited patiently until the doors opened. She walked out into the apartment, and towards the bedroom. The scene she saw there made her heart melt.  
  
Angel was curled up on the bed, with Ashleigh asleep in his loose arms. Her long blond hair was fanned out around her, and she rested her head on Angel's arm.  
  
Buffy crawled onto the bed, and lay down beside Ashleigh.  
  
"Hi," he whispered.  
  
"Hi," she returned, "you look comfy."  
  
"I'm just lucky my arm can't fall asleep. Though I'd rather it be you." He said with conviction.  
  
"But you two are so cute." She teased to cover up her delighted embarrassment.  
  
"You're cuter." he slowly moved his hand from under her, trying to slowly creep away, but the girl latched onto him, wrapping her arms about his chest.  
  
"She's really attached to you." She commented.  
  
"Literally." He joked. He slowly reached his left hand over the sleeping child and ran his thumb over her cheek. She allowed him to stroke her cheek as she lay there.  
  
"I missed you, " he said, "ever since I left, I've missed you, every day."  
  
"But you still left."  
  
"I felt I had to. I almost wish I hadn't, now."  
  
"Almost?" he heard the emotion in her voice.  
  
"Look at what you've become, what you've done! You wouldn't have been able to, if I had stayed."  
  
"Oh sure, I blew up a high school, died, blew up an entire town, and now I live in a house, provided by an organization I used to hate, and my every need is taken care of, by them."  
  
"You are a thoroughly gorgeous, fiery woman of 25 or so, with an unquenchable lust for life. You've taken care of your sister since you were 20, becoming her legal guardian, and now you are essentially Ashleigh's mother. You have come so far from the teen you once were."  
  
"I don't want to be her mom!" she cried, the fear showing clearly in her eyes. He shushed her quietly. "I can't be her mom. I don't know how," she whispered sadly.  
  
"Yes you can. I'll help you."  
  
"What do you know about raising a kid?" She cried, sitting up.  
  
"Hey, shh, now. I-I have to tell you something. It's been eating me up inside. No one else knows or remembers. Due to some interference on someone's part, a higher being or what have you; I had a son four years ago. He was kidnapped and taken to a demon dimension. When he came back, he was an adult. W-hen I signed on with Wolfram and Hart, I made a deal with them. They'd give my son a real family, the family he deserved, where monsters and demons don't exist." he finished quietly, "They want me here to keep tabs on me, and if I leave, Connor gets dragged back into hell." she just sat there, silent.  
  
"I-I'm sorry." she said finally.  
  
"I'm dealing. But...I want to help with her. I-I can be her father figure." She slowly lay down again.  
  
"It's no fun when your parents are separated." she murmured.  
  
"Can we trust ourselves?"  
  
And so begins the flooding of reviews, right?  
  
And I just wanna be the first to say...aww! I loved writing this chapter SO much!!! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed reading it! 


	6. Part Six

Stolen Innocence  
  
Part Six  
  
Posted: May 9, 2004  
  
Author's notes: This chapter it REALLY short. I wanted to get an update in today, since I'm really bored, and I felt like being generous! Who cares about homework? Lol. I will hopefully still update on Tuesday, and the chapter will be much longer. It's just...we're getting in really deep....and if I started getting into that, then we'd have to finish the whole thing, and it's just REALLY long. So here's a short chapter, with promises of a longer one later!  
  
Oh, and I'm sorry about the freaky no things. The document editor thing took them out! I'm gonna try and change that!  
  
Reader responses:  
  
Ok, first off I want to say that no one got the reference or whatever I called it, but the closest person was Willow Fireheart. The reference was the ritual calling for the blood of three witch sisters, and an angel to bring the Armageddon. It was a reference to Charmed. Do you get it now?  
  
I'm lame...I know.  
  
Willow Fireheart: I'm glad you took the time to read my updates, but please get your work done...if you get in trouble, whether it be school work and you get grounded, or work work, and you get fired, then you won't be happy, and if I find out, I'll feel it's my fault! Strange guilty conscience thing. Stupid, I know. But get your work done!  
  
HEY!! The radio station I'm listening to, 99.9- The WOLF, is playing the National Anthem...And the rockets red glare, The bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night, That our flag was still there. Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave, For the land of the FREE, And the home...of the...brave...  
  
Ok, back to reviewers:  
  
Gigil13- I didn't even notice that reference...yeah, that's a reference too! The 'it's always blood'- the Gift. Lol. Oh well. Oh, and I loved your suggestion so much, I wrote a little tiny, like two page story, that's exactly that. It's called A Day With Daddy, and I'll post it eventually.  
  
GidgetGirl: well, I don't think there are going to be any tantrums in this story, just because I'm almost done, even if I haven't posted it all, but Maybe it will happen in something like A Day With Daddy. I could do a short story series sequel thing....Let me get back to you, ok? And I'm glad you liked that part. I actually wrote that whole thing out of context to the story, it was something that I cam up with at like 11pm, when I was supposed to be asleep already, and had no clue where it was going to fit into the story, but I think it fit pretty nicely, don't you? Lol. Thanks for the review!  
  
WW; yeah, that's what the challenge called for, if I remember correctly, but it's starting to look like it's not going to be a TRUE ascension. We'll see....thanks for your review!  
  
Litchick08: I'm glad you like. I will occasionally write a Spuffy story, but I'm a self-proclaimed prude, and the whole 'relationship' between Buffy and Spike put me off. They never really had a relationship, they just had sex. So, that's my little rant on Buffy's relationships, and why Angel's better for her. They weren't obsessed with the physical. B/A rocks!!!  
  
The room was dark, dank and dusty after two years of no use, by anything living or otherwise. He slowly drew back the thick curtains, letting in the moonlight. He had gotten so used to the sunlight, but now.... These windows wouldn't protect him.  
  
He sighed and sat on the bed.  
  
"Where is she?" he growled.  
  
"She's...disappeared, sir."  
  
"Well, find the damned brat, and get her back here!"  
  
"We've tried, sir. We believe that Angelus has her, but we don't have the men trained to go in and retrieve her. The tracking signal is weak, the barriers around the Wolfram and Hart building in LA is probably interfering with its communications."  
  
"We need that brat! She is the sacrifice! It won't happen, if she isn't present!"  
  
"I know sir."  
  
"THEN FIND HER!" the room shook from the vibrations.  
  
"Yes sir." he bowed quickly and left.  
  
They stood in the center of the room, slowly moving in unison, the flowing movements matching the others in every way.  
  
Suddenly the door flew open, breaking the tranquil mood, and the four-year- old came racing into the room. She stopped short when she saw what they were doing.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked.  
  
"Practicing," came the terse reply.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For the apocalypse."  
  
She nodded as if the answer was acceptable. "Will one of you play with me?" she asked.  
  
"Where's Dawn?"  
  
"She's still sleeping."  
  
"We're busy, Ash, how about later? You can come to work with me, while Buffy cleans up the third floor."  
  
"Ok. What should I do now?"  
  
"Wanna watch?"  
  
"Can you teach me?" the four year old asked, suddenly shy. She had never been allowed to learn anything but the things she needed for her role.  
  
Buffy motioned her over, and the two adults slowly taught the young girl the art of Tia Chi.  
  
"There are now enough rooms for the ones in New England. I think we should leave one or two in the big cities, since we don't know when this is going to happen, it could be a ways away..."  
  
"Stop worrying. It will happen whether we're prepared or not. These things have their own time schedule," he pulled her down onto his lap.  
  
"Angel-" she protested meekly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"We really shouldn't..."  
  
"You've worried enough about things today. Go home; take a nice, long bath. I've got Ashleigh."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Positive."  
  
"Ok..." she made to move, but he still had his arms around her waist. "For me to go home, you have to let go of me."  
  
"Oh yeah."  
  
"Ok, girly, I need you to tell me some things, ok?" Buffy asked Ashleigh a few days later. The girl nodded. "What's this apocalypse about?"  
  
"I-"  
  
"Ashleigh, you want Angel and I to stop it, right?" she nodded, "then I need to know what to do."  
  
"It's an...ascension." She stumbled over the word, "and it calls for blood." She whispered.  
  
"Who's ascending?" Buffy asked, getting closer to hear her answer.  
  
"The demons."  
  
"What type of demons?" She asked nicely.  
  
"All of them." Buffy sat back with a shock, "It's my blood they need! And my brain! I'm smart, and I have....tele-kesis." she rushed, still whispering, "They're going to find me! And I'm gonna be in deep trouble for running away! They need my blood, to open the...hellmouth. And to bring Them here." She sniffled, "My blood. My blood." A tear ran down her face.  
  
"Hey! It's ok." Buffy said soothingly, sliding out of her seat, and enclosing the girl in her arms, "We love you, and we're not going to let them find you."  
  
"But they will. Hope ran away last year. And they found her, and brought her back. Now we all have these." The girl pulled her hair over her left shoulder to show Buffy the one inch by one inch square behind and just below her ear. Buffy touched it, wondering how the hell they had missed it. All three of them had given her a bath recently, though Angel had been squeamish about it. But to miss something so prominent? "They're going to find me. And they'll beat me." She said, letting her long hair cover the mark once more.  
  
"Hey, you've forgotten who your dealing with. All three of us can fight to protect you. I swear we won't let them hurt you."  
  
"They know how to deal with Angel. They don't like him. They'll hurt him, because of me." She said sadly, her eyes filling with tears once more.  
  
"Ashleigh, trust me, ok? They wont hurt you, or us." But she decided she might want to make that call sooner rather than later.  
  
They sat on the chartered plane, apprehensive. If they failed this, then there would be no one left to tell the tale of their failure. But if they did succeed, there still might not be anyone left.  
  
He nodded to one of his colleagues; they all knew what their choice had been. Either stay, and face the wrath of their superiors, or go, and face the wrath of a vampire.  
  
Ok, next chapter, look for:  
  
The arrival of Wolfram and Hart's trained cronies.  
  
Hotel California overrun with teenagers  
  
Ashleigh briefly talking to inanimate objects....lol...  
  
Another Buffy/Angel moment!  
  
The first shots of the apocalypse. 


	7. Part Seven

Stolen Innocence  
  
Part Seven  
  
Original post: May 11, 2004: 8:30 am  
  
Updated post: May 11, 2004: 8:46 pm  
  
Summery: When Dawn goes to visit Angel during April break, on pretenses of visiting Faith, she takes home a hitchhiker, that she doesn't like. The girl in her latest vision has a tie no one foresaw...She is the youngest daughter of a W&H lawyer, named Hank Summers.  
  
Author's notes: OMG!! I'm so sorry. I have no clue what happened. Thanks to Bluie for bringing it to my attention. And this has some new info, that I seem to have misplaced when I posted the other! SORRY!!!!  
  
And if any of this is old, then I'm sorry. I'm a bit frazzled right now!  
  
STUFF POSTED LAST TIME:  
  
Author's notes: Ok, I'll figure out what Part this is once I get to the site...lol. I've lost just a bit of track.... AGGGG!!!!!!! The stupid things aren't showing up!!! I am soo sorry guys! Hey, wait, if they're not showing up, then how would you know what I'm talking about...?  
  
Sigh My friend says that by saving it as an html format thing, it helps, so maybe I'll try that.....  
  
But of course, it won't let me!!!!   
  
Reader Responses:  
  
Willow Fireheart: You'd better get it done! I hate to sound like my mother (but of course, why not, since I sound and look like her!) but school work always comes first. But if you're reading this IN CLASS or something, or while you're doing school work, then that's ok with me! Lol. What confused you about the last chapter? Well, chapter Six...not sure if it was the last one or not....  
  
Thanks to Gigil13 for reviewing! I love to know when people are loving my stories hint hint   
  
REVIEWS FOR A Day With Daddy:  
  
Gigil: I'm glad you feel special. I now have tons of other ideas for short stories.... If you have anything else you want to see.....just let me know!!  
  
AND THAT GOES FOR ALL OF YOU!!!  
  
If you want to see something that I absolutely can't fit into this story, since it's almost over, at least in my mind, anyway, give me the idea, and I'll see what I can do!!!  
  
STORY STARTS HERE:  
  
Buffy woke to the sound of running water. She sighed, trying to drown out the sound, but it was impossible. It was three days since her talk with Ashleigh, and all former potentials within a 200 mile radius had been invited to stay at Hotel California, indefinitely. 20 girls had jumped that the chance to train once more with her, and all the rooms on the second floor were occupied. Many girls were wary of Angel, but all loved Ashleigh at first sight.  
  
She pulled the pillow from over her head, and noticed for the first time the light in the bathroom was on. She didn't remember leaving it on... "Ashleigh?" she called, "Ashleigh?!" there was no answer yet again. She threw off the blankets and padded over to the bathroom in her pink underwear and white tank top.  
  
Ashleigh was sitting in the bathtub, trying to change the water temperature. She was shivering. With a burst of strength, she turned the tricky knob, and scalding water poured into the tub, some landing on her leg. "OW!' she started crying. "Turn, off, turn off, TURN OFF!" She screamed at the offending faucet, trying to turn it off, and then she started slamming it with her small fist, as more hot water flowed into the tub.  
  
Buffy rushed over, turned off the tap, pulled the plug, and wrapped the screaming girl in her arms. "Shh. Shh... you're ok."  
  
"But...the water.... Bit me!" she sobbed.  
  
"Bad water." Buffy scolded. "What were you doing?"  
  
"I-I didn't want to be a pain. You've been busy. I was just trying to help."  
  
"You are never a pain. I love you, Ash. You're my little sister, or.... you're almost like my daughter."  
  
"I don't have a mommy. I don't remember her."  
  
"I'll be your mom for now, ok?"  
  
The girl nodded, face solemn. And then her face lit up, "Angel!" Buffy turned.  
  
"I-I heard her scream. Is she ok?"  
  
"Yeah, we're fine, right Ash?"  
  
"My leg hurts," She pouted.  
  
"C-Can I see?" Angel asked. Buffy was conscious of her attire. Ashleigh nodded, and stuck out her bare leg. Angel came over and crouched near them.  
  
"You burned it, at least, that's what it looks like," Angel said. He touched it gently, "Probably a minor burn, not severe enough to be a second degree, but maybe a bad first degree burn. I have some Aloe Vera upstairs. I'll go get it." Buffy nodded as he got up and left.  
  
"Let's get you dressed, ok girly?"  
  
"Ok!"  
  
By the time Angel had come back, Ashleigh was wearing a sundress that just covered the burn. Angel smoothed some of the liquid onto the area with gentle hands.  
  
Buffy came out of the bathroom, now dressed in shorts and a tank top.  
  
"We're all done here," Angel patted Ashleigh's knee, and she giggled.  
  
"Thanks," Buffy said, leaning against the door jam, as far away from him as she could be, and still be in the same room.  
  
"Uh, Miss Summers?" A petite girl of 16 poked her red head into the room. "There's no more hot water, and the girls are complaining."  
  
"The hotel hasn't had this many guests since the 70's." Angel noted.  
  
"Give it fifteen minutes, ok? And then I'll see what I can do," She sighed. The girl nodded and left.  
  
"Hey, Ash, go see if Dawn's up yet, ok?" Angel patted her knee once more, and the girl scampered off. "How are you?" he asked quietly, standing.  
  
"Oh, just peachy. Supervising the slayers, their additional training, watching Ashleigh, keeping everyone out of trouble, patrolling, and keeping control of myself, it's tiring."  
  
"I bet."  
  
"So, uh, how are you?"  
  
"Awful, to be truthful. Being this close to you, and not being able to hold you...But I can manage."  
  
"I know the feeling. But we can't."  
  
He sighed. She moved closer and sat on the edge of the bed. After a moment, he sat beside her.  
  
"We...have to be strong," She said, inching closer to him, as if it wasn't her own free will.  
  
"Right. Strong."  
  
"Definitely. This can't ever be anything..." she leaned against him, both relishing at the touch. He put his arms around her waist, "It doesn't get any easier, does it?" she asked after a moment of silence.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Staying away from you. Saying goodbye. I left the country, even, but something brought me back here. It's as if we're meant to suffer like we do. It will never get any easier, will it?"  
  
"I think we both know the answer. What do you want me to say?"  
  
"Lie to me."  
  
Just then an alarm went off, and like bugs attracted to the light, 18 sets of feet could be heard rushing around, and then out in the hall, headed towards the lobby.  
  
"Ashleigh!" Buffy looked at him with fear in her eyes, a fear he had never seen before.  
  
The door opened, and Dawn pushed the terrified girl inside.  
  
"They're here," She whispered, "They're going to get me!" She whimpered. The door slammed behind her as Dawn went to join the others downstairs.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
Twenty men came in through the double doors, while Chin Me and Kayla were on duty.  
  
"C-Can I help you, sirs?" Kayla stepped from behind the desk.  
  
"She's definitely here, sir." A man with a hand held computer said.  
  
He nodded. "We're here for the girl." Chin Me dropped her hand unobtrusively underneath the desk and hit the newly installed button hidden there. The alarm wouldn't ring in the lobby, but the individual rooms that were occupied. Lorne had rigged it up special for them.  
  
"There are lots of girls here. Which one?" Kayla improvised.  
  
"I think you know. Hand her over."  
  
Within minutes, the lobby was filled with 21 girls, some with still dripping hair. Many held weapons, Dawn holding the biggest broadsword among them.  
  
"We don't want to fight. We just want our girl," He said with authority.  
  
"She's not yours! She's mine!" Dawn stepped in front of the group. "And you have to go through me to get her!"  
  
"Ah, Miss Summers, I presume. We had a feeling you were behind this. You had so much more potential than we caught, being the slayer and all." Dawn looked at them, confused. Then she realized that they thought she was Buffy. Some of the potentials looked at her, shifting slightly, but they stayed silent, "Just hand over the girl and no one gets hurt."  
  
"She's my sister, and I'm not going to just hand her over to slime bags like you!" she decided to go along with it. If they thought she was Buffy, then they wouldn't be ready for the real deal, if they got there.  
  
"This is my last warning, Miss Summers. Hand over the girl," The men raised their guns. The girls all stepped into their positions, sinking into fighter's stances. The girls with hand held weapons of the non-lethal variety, stood in the front, while the swords and axes were the second two rows. Five girls held crossbows in the back. Nobody wanted to kill, unless they had to.  
  
The man nodded when he got no response, and the first shots of the Apocalypse were fired.  
  
The girls were ready, wearing vests night and day since they had arrived. Angel had pressure the Police Force into giving him the Kevlar vests. Many of the shots were aimed to kill, but the vests took the bullet, and the first row stumbled back as the back row fired their crossbows, aiming to hurt, not kill. Dawn had been one of the ones to catch a bullet, but she recovered quickly, as did the others in the first row, and they charged into the fray, as the two oldest slayers took their places on the stairs. Twins, they had been studying different martial arts since they were five, and now at 18, they held their weapons of choice with authority; one with a whip chain, the other with a pair of katanas.  
  
Gunn and Wesley came in as the battle was raging, speeding over from Wolfram and Hart, where they had been detained. They waded into the fight, fists flying.  
  
Dawn was confident with her fighting team, but the facts were that the Wolfram and Hart boys were far better trained than her motley group, between the ages of 13-18. While her slayers had up to two years training, with few exceptions, the men had been training for up to twenty years, and had been picked from around the globe. The guns had been but a formality.  
  
One by one, the girls fell, until it was but a haggard Dawn, Gunn, Wesley, and the Black Belt Twins, against ten men. Dawn had knocked the speaker out herself, you weren't the slayer's kid sister without learning a few things.  
  
They slowly converged on the three people on the ground floor, as the twins watched with apprehension. Under no circumstances what so ever, were they allowed to leave their perch on the stairs.  
  
Dawn was the first to fall, bleeding shallowly from arms wounds, and a blow to the head. Someone cracked her at the base of the skull, and she fell like a ton of bricks. Wesley was next, and as he fell, he slammed his head off the desk, and then the floor. Gunn put up a great fight, his years on the streets giving him an edge that almost made him equal to the enemy, but he too fell under the overwhelming odds.  
  
Jefferson led the way against Katerina and Kiara. He had been selected personally by the Senior Partners to grab the girl.  
  
The two teens put up a good fight, but they were vastly outnumbered. Kiara fell first, tumbling head first down the stairs.  
  
"KI!" her sister screamed in shock, as she watched her sister bounce down the stairs, as if in slow motion. She stood there a moment, unmoving, as Jefferson hit her at the base of the neck with the butt of his gun. She crumpled without a sound, falling down the stairs, to land on top of her sister.  
  
They barged into the rooms on the second floor, ransacking them, looking for the girl. Once the second floor was clear, they rushed to the third floor, finding only one room habitable.  
  
As they entered the room, a shadow fell from the ceiling, knocking out two of the men instantly, five more falling to the ground.  
  
"Angelus." Jefferson turned to hi, "Do you doubt that we were ready for you?"  
  
"No, I know you're not ready for Me." He vamped out. A man shot out a taser at him, and he was too slow to get out of the way. Electricity shot through his body, but he just grinned evilly. They had never seen him, they may have heard of his former self, but he was different now. He had no qualms about killing these men, they wanted to harm the most innocent of innocents, a child. And they would hurt Buffy if they had to.  
  
Buffy huddled in the closet, amidst his black shirts. She hated the fact that she was hiding, but if Angel lost, then she had to be able to protect Ashleigh, to her dying breath if necessary.  
  
The first guy charged Angel, and Angel sidestepped him, kicking out so he slammed into the wall. The second guy tried to grab Angel from behind, but Angel grabbed him by the neck and flipped him over, slamming him into the floor with a bone crushing force. The guy didn't get up again. The third and fourth guys attack simultaneously, from both sides. Angel jumped forward, tackling a man, punching him in the jaw, knocking him out.  
  
Jefferson watched, knowing, eventually, the vampire would fall. They weren't allowed to kill him, just incapacitate him for a few days or so. He took the time to draw his weapon, and making sure the clip was full. He took aim carefully, before shooting the vampire's left leg. He screamed in pain, and Jefferson smiled.  
  
The first guy managed to come back for round two, as the fifth and sixth guys rushed Angel. He blocked blows right and left, managing to throw one or two of his own. He knocked Man #2 down, and snapped Man #1's neck.  
  
The seven remaining men, besides Jefferson, converged on the vampire, but not before Jefferson could get one more shot off, into Angel's stomach.  
  
The howl of pain and anger made Buffy shiver.  
  
Angel took the blows, and dished out more of his own with his lightning fast reflexes. He knocked three men down, and four more away, only to allow Jefferson another shot. Then the seven guys were upon him once more, punching, kicking, stabbing. Angel soon fell to his knees under the blows. Then he slumped over, and the men retreated. Jefferson fired five more shots into the vampire, emptying his clip. The body didn't even flinch as the bullets went in.  
  
When she was certain Angel wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, Buffy burst from the closet, headed straight for Jefferson. A man intercepted her, but she batted him away like a rag doll. Then the other six were on her.  
  
"She's human!" Jefferson called as one man went for his knife. He had little qualms about hurting or killing vampires, but humans were another deal. The man stabbed her anyway, once in the stomach.  
  
"I'm more than human, you asshole! I'm the damn slayer!" she growled, gritting her teeth through the pain. She did a spinning side kick, sending her stabber on a quick date with the wall. He slumped to the floor.  
  
Another man slashed her down the back, and she arched her back in surprise.  
  
"Why you little backstabber!" she spun, only to catch the knife in the shoulder, buried up to the handle in her upper bicep, just missing the bone. It was way too early in the morning, and her quipping wasn't up to par yet.  
  
Now she was running on adrenalin and anger alone, letting the rage wash over the pain. She knocked the knife from his hand, sending it on a collision course with the wall over the bed. She grabbed her own knife, from the small of her back, and jabbed it into his stomach in one fluid motion.  
  
"How do you like it?" she retorted as he crumpled to the floor, with a grunt of surprise. "One down, six cronies and one leader to go." She murmured to herself, spinning and blocking a bladed attack with her knife. She tried to punch him away with her damaged left arm, but it hurt to move it. "Fine, if that's how it's gonna be..." she kneed him in the groin, and he fell backwards, eyes wide in pain.  
  
"Well, Miss Summers, I wasn't expecting you up here." A voice behind her said, and the goons fell back, as she slowly circled, looking for an attack.  
  
She slowly turned towards the speaker. "Then it's all good, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes, though I feel sorry for the brunette down stairs. She was one of the last to fall, and we presumed her to be you."  
  
"Dawn." She breathed.  
  
"Ah, yes, the Key. But her blood is useless to us now. The time has past, and the properties were passed on to your youngest sister. The blood of the slayer, and the properties of the Key. Your father was a special man, you see, and his daughters destined for great deaths. But yours has passed, and yet you still walk this earth. Your time has passed. Goodbye, Miss Summers. It was a pleasure meeting you." He aimed the gun her way, and fired.  
  
Angel, just coming back into consciousness, kicked out, tripping Buffy, so the bullet his her in the shoulder, instead of the heart. She cried out in pain, and fell on top of him. The will power it took to move made the pain wash over him once more, and they both lapsed into unconsciousness.  
  
"BUFFY!!!" the scream came from under the bed, and Jefferson turned, bent, and dragged the kicking, screaming girl out from under the bed.  
  
"You are in a lot of trouble, little girl." He said, walking out of the room. In the doorway, he stooped, "Gather the men. Alive or dead. Take them to the van." He ordered, and the men rushed to do what he said.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
"To think, Buffy's been in LA for almost three weeks, and she didn't tell us!" the female voice floated into the silent lobby.  
  
"I know. It's not like she didn't know we were in the States. What if she just doesn't want to see us?" A man's voice followed the woman's.  
  
"Nonsense, we're her best friends." She said, and the two figures entered the hotel. "Besides, if there was anything wrong, she would tell us right off..." she got a look at the lobby, bodies all over the place.  
  
"Whoa, what happened here?"  
  
"I-I don't know...Call 911. Hurry!" he rushed off to make the call.  
  
Before the police and paramedics arrived, they found the third floor room, with blood splattered all over the walls, and Angel and Buffy in a heap on the floor.  
  
"Help me get him out of here. If they find him, then there are going to be too many questions that don't have answers." She ordered, as they fought with his dead weight.  
  
"What are we going to do with him?"  
  
"Uh...take him to Wolfram and Hart, they'll know what to do with him."  
  
"You'll have to do it, I made the call."  
  
"Fine."  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
The grounds were swarming with cops by the time she got back from dropping the vampire in his apartment. Harmony promised to take care of him. She pushed her way inside, but an officer there wouldn't let her by.  
  
"Will!" The guy called, as he rushed over to her, "She's ok. She was supposed to meet me here." The police officer nodded, and let her through.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"I don't know. They've taken Buffy to the hospital, and they're starting down here now."  
  
"Xan, that's Katerina and Kiara." She pointed. "They're slayers." She muttered in his ear. "What do you wanna bet that whatever went down here wasn't of the natural variety?"  
  
"Do you know anyone else here?"  
  
"Um..." she looked around, "That's Wesley! And Gunn, he's Angel's friend. And...Oh My God! Dawn?" she rushed over.  
  
"Hey! Please don't touch-"an officer started, but she had already rolled the girl over.  
  
"Dawn," she murmured.  
  
"Hey! I said-"he grabbed her shoulder, "Do I have to escort you off the property? This is a crime scene!"  
  
"Dude, she's our friend." Xander said, as Willow quickly searched for a pulse.  
  
"She's still alive. And breathing. Looks like she was knocked out." The officer nodded, and motioned for a gurney to be brought over. "Xander, I'm going to the hospital with her."  
  
He nodded. "I'll stay here, see if I can identify anyone else." He nodded towards the cop.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
She was floating on a sea of white. Her body moved with the current, bobbing up and down in the waves. Everything was blissfully silent, and she wanted to sleep...  
  
This wasn't right. Where was she? And Ashleigh? What was going on?  
  
Se fought her way to consciousness, and the first sense that came online was hearing, she heard the bleeping of machines and other noises that blurred together and hurt her head. Then she could smell the anesthetics and other smells of the hospital. She didn't like the picture that her senses were painting thus far. She experimentally moved her tongue around her mouth; it was hot and dry, like cotton balls. Her throat felt raw, but there was no real pain sensation, everything was just a twinge, nothing to worry about.  
  
She slowly opened her eyes, and closed them immediately, the light blinding her. She slowly tried again, and once her vision cleared, she saw a strange face bent over her.  
  
"Ms Summers?" it asked in a disjointed voice. "Blink once if you can hear me." She did so. The face disappeared. "She's awake." She heard. She tried to roll her head, or move something, but she couldn't.  
  
"Don't try to move, you've been stabbed and shot." She heard.  
  
"Oh my god! Buffy! You're ok!" A red head appeared in her vision, and she stared up at it, confused. "Xander's here too, he's in with Dawn though. You scared the shit out of us, Buffy. You didn't tell us you were in LA, and then we walked into the Hyperoin, and everyone was unconscious. What happened?"  
  
"Wolfram and Hart is what happened." Wesley entered the room, limping slightly, with a hand to his aching head.  
  
"Sir, you shouldn't be out of bed yet-"  
  
"Sod off." He told her, slowly drawing up a chair on the other side of Buffy's bed. "Buffy, how are you feeling?"  
  
"Ash-lei-gh." She croaked, her lips dry and parched.  
  
"I'm afraid they took her. We held on as long as possible down stairs, but the odds were unfair, even with all those girls there. Dawn put up one hell of a fight." He closed his eyes, and then reopened them, "I've talked to the police, and uh, gave them my story. It's a shame, they showed up, we tried to fight back, all within our limits as citizens, and they took her."  
  
"Took who? Who's Ashleigh?" Willow asked, confused.  
  
"My-Sis-ter." She croaked.  
  
"But I thought Dawn was your-"she was confused.  
  
"Dad's other kid. She's...only four years old. Dad-dad signed her over to the firm." "That's awful!" Willow exclaimed. Buffy closed her eyes tiredly, then opened them, trying to focus just a bit longer.  
  
"We're tiring you out." Wesley said, standing. "We'll get out of here, let you rest. We'll be back later." Buffy nodded, and closed her eyes. She heard Willow and Wesley bickering quietly in the background, but they left.  
  
The white slowly enclosed around her once more.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
"Buffy! Ashleigh!" he sat straight up in the bed, everything aching.  
  
"Whoa, hold on tiger, you're in no place to be going anywhere, Angelcakes." The green demon pushed him back down. "We have a few things we have to deal with, before you go charging into the fray once more, Amigo."  
  
"Yeah, you've been hurt really bad, boss." Harmony said form nearby.  
  
"Where are they? Ashleigh?...Buffy?"  
  
"Well, Buffy's in the hospital, we haven't seen Ashleigh."  
  
"I have to go...to her." He fought to sit up, but Harmony pushed him back down.  
  
"You are in no condition to go charging off. You've been shot, for one, and we need to get those out, before you heal." She allowed him to sit up slowly.  
  
"I've got the stuff, so if you'll just sit tight, Angelface, we'll get this over with." He nodded.  
  
Half an hour of blinding pain later, he was allowed to dress.  
  
"Does the hospital have underground parking, boss?" she asked later, rushing after him.  
  
"We'll find out, won't we?" he asked, stalking off, the two demons hurrying after him.  
  
"Angelcakes, I'm gonna stay here, as much as I'd like to make sure she's ok, I'm not sure I'd get a good reception."  
  
Angel didn't even acknowledge him as he dropped back.  
  
After parking, he rushed to the front desk. "Buffy summers."  
  
"She's in ICU, sir..." but he was gone, already racing for the stairs.  
  
"Have a nice day!" Harmony called, smiling as she rushed after him.  
  
Angel saw Willow in the ICU waiting room, and rushed o her side. "How is she?"  
  
"She's sleeping, right now. They've got her pretty drugged up. We've lost one girl so far, she wasn't wearing a vest, I guess."  
  
"Can I see her?"  
  
"Uh-Angel, what's happening? What's going on?"  
  
"I'll tell you later, ok?" he slipped off.  
  
"Now where'd he go?" Harmony complained, coming out of the stairwell.  
  
He slipped into her room, conscious of the large window. She lay on the bed, her small body almost lost in the white. She was so pale herself, almost blending in with the sheets.  
  
"Oh, Buffy." He murmured, slipping into the chair beside her. He picked up her limp hand.  
  
She felt his presence and fought to come out of the drug induced sleep. Finally she broke the surface, and squeezed his hand, opening her eyes slowly.  
  
"Buffy," He whispered.  
  
"Angel." She smiled up at him. "How are you?" her voice was hoarse.  
  
"If I can go a few days without getting shot, I'll be fine." She smiled at him again, "I-I'm sorry, Buffy. I know how much she meant to you."  
  
"We'll get her back. You tried your best, and that's all you can do."  
  
"I have to tell you something. We both could have died, you more than me, but before anything else happens, I have to say this."  
  
"Angel..."  
  
"No. Buffy, I love you. I always have. And I always will. I found this earlier, and I had to know if you felt the same."  
  
"Angel...of course I feel the same. But I thought we agreed..."  
  
"I don't care anymore. The thought of never seeing you again scares the shit out of me. I thought I had lost you forever a couple years ago....The apocalypse has started, and this might be the last time I get to say this. Once all this is done, once we stop this and get Ash back, I want to try again. Try us again. We'll work something out, but right now, I just want to know that you are willing."  
  
"I've never wanted anything more." She whispered He took a ring box from his pocket.  
  
"I'm sure you remember this." He held the ring out for her to see.  
  
"I-Is that...I thought it went down with Sunnydale." She whispered.  
  
"I suspected as much, so I took the liberty to buy you a new one. Two years ago. I just haven't gotten around to sending it to you." She took it from his with her less mangled hand. "Wait ther's something I...neglected to tell you."  
  
"What?" she let her good arm fall back onto the bed.  
  
"In the times when priests and ministers weren't common, peasants used these to show their devotion to each other, as....wedding rings. They'd give them to each other with witnesses, and then they'd....consummate their marriage." He finished weakly.  
  
"You gave me a wedding ring at 17?!"  
  
"I wans't thinking of it that way. I only meant it to be a promise ring, a symbol of our everlasting love. But then we...I just wanted you to know. If you put that ring on, my my people, we will be considered married."  
  
"But what about you? Angel, I never cared about children, mostly because I thought I'd never get to have any. All I ever wanted was you. And now I have Ashleigh, I don't need another child to raise. And all I still want is you." Tears were in her eyes now, but not from the pain. He slid the ring onto her finger.  
  
"May I kiss the bride?" she whispered, and she nodded. He leaned over the bed and kissed her softly.  
  
"Just promise me, that after all of this is over, we can do this my way. At night."  
  
"Deal. You're tired, I should-"  
  
"No. Stay. With me. Please." He nodded, helping her scoot over in the small bed. He ducked under the wires attached to her body, and slid into bed beside her. He winced a couple times, but he managed. She sighed, resting her head on his chest.  
  
"I love you." She whispered, slipping into sleep once more.  
  
"I love you." He kissed the top of her head.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
"Giles, where are there hellmouths located?" Buffy asked almost two weeks later, after she had forcefully signed herself out of the hospital. All of the Sunnydale Potentials had been flown in, and Giles had come all the way from England as well. They were all gathered in the conference room at Wolfram and Hart.  
  
"Sunnydale, Cleveland, Scotland and Australia, as far as I know." He reported the facts.  
  
"They were holding the girls in Okinawa, so our best bet is Australia. They wouldn't want to fly a whole bunch of kids half way around the world, right?" Dawn spoke up. She sat by the wall, in a wheelchair she had been made to promise to stay in for a week, so the stitches along her stomach could heal properly, with no incident of being ripped out.  
  
"So we'll head there. Giles, I want you to gather all of the slayers in Europe and take them to Scotland. Will, you and Xander find as many of the girls in the US that you can possibly find, and head to Cleveland. Angel and I will head to Australia, picking up any slayers on the way."  
  
"I'm going too." Dawn spoke up.  
  
"Dawn..."  
  
"I'm 18, Buffy. I'm old enough to make my own decisions. I'm going."  
  
"We all are, B. You can't just expect to be there for us when we need you the most, and not let us be there for you." Faith stood against the wall.  
  
"But I need you guys elsewhere! If we're wrong, then we're screwed. And Ashleigh will die."  
  
"And if we're right about this thing, you and Angel aren't gonna cut it!" Faith pushed herself off the wall, standing up straight, trying to intimidate the older slayer.  
  
"But you're not wrong. See, it's like this, The Senior Partners have always had an interest in the hellmouth in Australia. That's where the first demons crawled out of the ash. Primordial Soup theory. And it was the first refuge for the Old Ones. It was also the first hellmouth to close, and it doesn't give off all of the vibes the larger ones do, so many don't know it exists." A dirty blond woman stood in the doorway.  
  
"Who the hell are you, and why should we trust you?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Eve. Long time no see. Not that we're happy to see you." Wesley didn't look up.  
  
"Eve. Why didn't you tell me this before?" Angel growled.  
  
"I can only tell what I know. I know everything." She walked around towards Angel, her arms wide, "but nothing." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I only have access to the information they want me to know. Only when they want me to tell you."  
  
"But why would they want us to know?"  
  
"Not you. Him. It has to do with this certain prophecy that many parties are aware of. A prophecy that deals with a souled vampire. But its an obscure prophecy, as all are. It never says which side he'll be on, and the Senior Partners still have their hopes up that he'll join them in hailing in the new world they're creating."  
  
"It's not going to happen!" he said viciously.  
  
"So we're headed Down Under." Kennedy smiled.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. Giles, how soon can you charter a plane?"  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
"The hellmouth is way out in the middle of nowhere." Eve had explained. "no one around for miles, except for the occasional cattle farmer. And Wild Life Experts, conservationists, those type. Not too much demonic activity either, the Partners take care of any one trying to hone in on their apocalypse."  
  
Buffy sat on the plane, with semi organized chaos around her, thinking. Giles had emailed the Associates in each of the state capitals, in charge of keeping track of the slayers. They had others that traveled, to train the girls as they came into their powers, and in some places they were trying to start up schools. The Supernatural and paranormal wasn't being shoved in the closet any longer in some places, and it was all because of her. They had flown to almost every state, with a designated stop, and whoever was there for slayers, whoever could be spared went. Two hundred slayers, and one vampire later, they were headed to Sydney, Australia, with just a few more stops to go.  
  
Some one sat beside her. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"Tell you what?"  
  
"Don't play dumb with me. About the prophecy. And Spike. Why didn't you tell me? Didn't I have a right to know?"  
  
"Who told you about the prophecy?"  
  
"I bugged Wesley into telling me.  
  
"Ah. I didn't tell you about Spike because...I was afraid I'd loose you. You didn't bring it up, and I figured that whether you knew or not, you didn't' want to talk about it.  
  
"How could I know?!" she turned to him quickly, jarring her still healing shoulder. The doctors, not knowing of her super healing, had done two or three surgeries that one week to heal her severed muscles, and to remove the bone shatters in the same shoulder. She wasn't so sure they had done it correctly, but they had, and while it was in a sling, it still hurt to move it, no matter how fast she healed.  
  
"All he talked about for those two years was going to find you. When he left in December, I figured he had finally gotten up the balls to go see you. I didn't know he was moping about in Memphis!"  
  
"And the prophecy? Why didn't you tell me about that? It's not like you didn't have enough opportunities."  
  
He sighed. "We didn't know for sure it was really me, after Spike showed up. It could have been him, and still could be, as much as it pains me to say it. I didn't want to get your hopes up. Mine are already high enough for the both of us." He noticed her fiddling with the ring on her limp hand. "There's something else bothering you, isn't there?"  
  
"That guy....the one who shot us...he said things...he hinted that Ashleigh was a potential, and the key."  
  
"Buffy..."  
  
"I thought I was ready," she continued softly, "but as things unfold, I'm still the same. I can't changed. Not since Mom died. I-I don't know if I'm ready any more." She wouldn't look at him as she took off the ring and placed it in his hand.  
  
"Buffy. Buffy, look at me." She slowly looked up at him, "Don't do this."  
  
"I-I have to." She whispered, close to tears. But she swore she wouldn't let him see her cry. "I'm sorry." She stood and shuffled by him, careful not to jostle her healing shoulder. She sat down beside Willow. "I don't want to talk about it." She said tersely, staring straight ahead. Few had noticed, but those who had were those most important in her life. Faith and Dawn started a whispered conversation.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED!!!  
  
Hopefully that's better. Sorry about that. This is way longer than I like, and am comfortable with posting, but oh well. Only...fifteen pages. And if this isn't formatted so it's easy reading, either email me directly at ksparky911yahoo.com, or ksparky911msn.com, which is the email address I check as soon as I get online! 


	8. Part Eight

Stolen Innocence  
  
Part Eight  
  
Posted: May 14, 2004  
  
Disclaimer: see first part  
  
Summery: not enough time right now....  
  
Challenge: GidgetGirl Challenge. See first part  
  
Author's notes: Uh oh, running out of both typed stuff AND time...oh well. Real short chapter. And people are probably gonna hate me for this chapter. Wrote this part late one night, when I went to type it up....I wasn't happy with it. But it all works out for the best in the end. You'll see why I had to do this eventually.  
  
Reader Responses:  
  
Willow Fireheart: Well, glad your work's done...mine's not! I forgot my thirty note cards, well, 30 are due, I only have 17 done...forgot them at home...I hat late grades! Yup, Australia. I have a strange obsession with Australia, maybe that's because Steve Irwin lives there, with his wife, Terry, originally from the States, and their daughter Bindi, and they now have a son....don't know his name...  
  
Bluie: thanks for reviewing. Html is icky! That's all I have to say!  
  
Gidget: thanks for your review! I'm glad you like the pace!  
  
STORY STARTS HERE  
  
She slowly woke up in a hard bed. Before opening her eyes, she played a quick game with herself, guessing who was up before her. Angel, he didn't sleep much, since he was fangy. Buffy and Dawn loved sleep, and she couldn't understand why. After the first rays of the sun peeked over the city, calling for her to go out and play in the moon's tears, she just couldn't sleep. But maybe they couldn't hear the call.  
  
Some of the others got up early, but they didn't go out and play. Many of the other slayers slept late like Buffy and Dawn though. The few that did get up early went and worked out in the room Angel had made for them. They didn't trust Angel, and she didn't understand why. She really liked him. He was nice to her.  
  
Wait, she didn't hear the sun calling to her, it's fingers dancing over her face through the window. She couldn't hear the birdies calling to one another, rejoicing in the new day.  
  
She sat bolt upright, her eyes wide open, searching. What she saw struck a sour note on her little heartstrings.  
  
"No." she breathed, gasping shallowly, shaking her head. "No. No, no, no!" the tears came to her eyes unbidden as she stared at the four, bare, white concrete walls. The tiny cot moved and squeaked as she wiggled, threatening to collapse as it had for as long as she could remember.  
  
"Angel? Dawn? Buffy?" she dared to whisper, but she knew they weren't there, and this wasn't a dream. She had seen Angel fall, trying to protect her. She had seen Buffy shot, right in front of her eyes. Her visions had come true, and that was when she knew the others would too.  
  
"Good to see you awake, Miss Summers. You gave us quite a scare." She scrambled backwards, until she was pressed against the wall, her thin cotton nightgown letting the cold from the wall seep into her skin. Though she didn't recognize the voice, it filled her with terror.  
  
"Y-Your not here." She dared to contradict.  
  
"You know as well as I do the punishment for such behavior, Miss Summers." The disembodied voice said.  
  
"N-No! Please! Anything but that!"  
  
"Come now, what would your sister say about such a display of cowardice?" tears filled her eyes and overflowed quickly. She had learned long ago to cry without making a sound. They only punished you more if you made noise.  
  
The voice didn't speak for a long time. She was alone once more in the 10 by 10 room, with nothing but a cold cot and lumpy pillow for company.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
She tried not to fidget, but she was hungry and she desperately had to go to the bathroom.  
  
The door glided open, and she scrambled to stand up beside the cot. The man walked in, holding a leash and harness. She held up her arms obediently, so he could silently fasten the straps around her thin frame.  
  
She hadn't told Buffy the whole truth, and now she hated herself for it. Hope had run away last year. But she had gone with her. After two months in solitary confinement, with two meals a day, and three bathroom trips, she was befriending dust mites. Lots of therapy, mostly painful, later, she learned to not talk to dust mites, nor mention them around people.  
  
It was after that that she had first heard the sun calling her, and understood the bird's joy at the rise of a new day. But she didn't tell anyone. If she did, she'd have to go through more therapy.  
  
But this time, when she was all alone for hours at a time, she would close her eyes and remember Angel. She really liked him, and she knew that after the ascension, whether she died or not, Angel and Buffy would be together, because he'd be human.  
  
What she saw were like visions, but they weren't; they were awake dreams. She dreamed of living with Buffy and Angel in a real house, not a hotel, or the compound that looked like a house where she had grown up, but a real one, with a puppy and a kitty, though in her dream, Angel didn't like kitties very much. She wasn't sure what a puppy or a kitty was, but some of the other kids, who had come when they were older, they had described them, and all she really knew was she wanted one.  
  
Occasionally, she'd have flashes of a man and a woman. She guessed these were her mommy and daddy, but it was all blurry. Mostly it was a voice she heard, singing a lullaby. Buffy hadn't known it, once she had asked, but Angel had. She could tell by the look on his face. She had bugged him until he sang it for her. While he was singing he was so sad and dark, she hadn't asked him to sing it again.  
  
She walked obediently on the leash, as the man walked her to the bathroom. If she didn't fight then maybe they would let her out sooner. But she knew it wasn't going to happen. It was coming soon, everyone knew that. She could feel the tenseness in the air, even though it was dull and stale. It plagued her nightmares. She was a tool for the other side, and if Buffy was still alive, then she would be fighting against her, but most importantly Angel. They would never forgive her. He would never forgive her if Buffy had died.  
  
She finished going to the bathroom, and washed her hands quickly. The man tugged on the leash hard, and she fell off the stool. She landed hard, jarring her knees and wrists. She could see where the bruises would form in a few short hours. A single tear fell down her cheek, but she stood back up quickly drying her hands, and turning off the faucet.  
  
They didn't talk on the return trip either. He was a new guy, or he hadn't worked with the little kids before. It never crossed her mind that she wasn't on the island of Okinawa any more. Once they got back to her room, he unlocked the door, and let her in. He followed, locking the door behind him.  
  
She stood there as he took off the leash, like a statue.  
  
'We're going to play a little game, ok?" he spoke for the first time, in a voice that scratched her ears. "Ok?" he shook her roughly, and she nodded quickly.  
  
He kneeled beside her, and tugged down the underwear with the stars that Dawn had bought for her. And then he started touching her.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
He left, slamming the thick door, and she heard the lock lock. After she knew he was really gone, she pulled up her special underwear that no longer felt like she deserved them, and crawled onto the bed, folding herself into a tiny ball. She didn't understand what he had done, but it had started out feeling strange funny, and then he had hurt her.  
  
She knew she had been bad, letting him touch her there. Jessica, the girl who had been put in charge of her when she had first come, watching her and taking care of her, had told her it was never ok for anyone to touch her there, and Buffy had told her about something called Good Touch, Bad Touch after she had gotten a bad rash. She knew that what had just happened was Bad Touch.  
  
She drew her knees closer to her chest, tucking her head so her forehead touched her knees, trying to block out the white walls and cold floor. That's when she started to silently cry.  
  
END OF CHAPTER  
  
Ok, I will accept flames for this chapter, since I have a feeling people are gonna be pissed off. I'm not some freak, trust me! This just came out of no where, but it all comes out in the end, and it help Buffy and Angel wi.....I can't tell you that, not yet...You'll find out soon enough!  
  
But of course, if you've read A Day With Daddy, then you can probably guess what I'm talking about! Don't tell the others, ok?  
  
PLEASE REVIEW 


	9. Part Nine

Stolen Innocence  
  
Part Nine  
  
Posted: May 18, 2004  
  
Disclaimer: see first part  
  
Author's notes: well, due to the last chapter, you guys must now understand why I chose the title, Stolen Innocence, but oh well. This might end up being my last update in awhile, since I've started working on a lot of my other, older stories, and I've started a few new ones. Give me just one AWESOME weekend, and I'll finish this, and hopefully Divine Interference, and work on a lot for The Dark Years, and get something done on One of a Kind, and work on my Buffy/Tarzan cross, the series that had only like five or six episodes on the WB, right after Charmed, for a few weeks, that's coming along. Not sure where that's headed yet. Then I came up with a story after watching the season finale of Charmed, so that will be worked on, and maybe posted, and then I have a NEW story, that I got the idea for by reading some other stories, though it goes along the lines of Is Daddy an Angel, only with a twist. You'll see, once I post it. Anyway, I'm busy, but I should still get some time to post SOMETHING!  
  
Reader Responses:  
  
Willow Fireheart: I can't guarantee anything, but I'm thinking about it. It really depends on when Ashleigh tells them. Though I have a feeling the guy WILL get what's coming to him!! Keep hoping, you might eventually get your wish for violence!  
  
And that's it for reviews! Please, guys, I need my reviews!!!  
  
START OF STORY  
  
They bumped along the dirt road that didn't even pass for a kangaroo trail in sixty or so jeeps, each driven by a local that didn't seem perturbed by the large number of their group. Dawn suspected all, or at least some, were apart of the Council, and had managed to not literally get axed. She, Buffy and Willow rode in the second jeep, Giles, Wesley and Gunn in the first, and Angel Spike, and surprisingly Xander in the very last jeep, being the only covered one. Over fifty jeeps were between her and her problems, crammed with slayers, and the occasional associate.  
  
"Are you a tour guide?" Dawn asked, climbing over the seat, to sit in the front.  
  
"Yes, during the summer." The driver said, not taking her eyes off the road.  
  
"Then can you tell us about where we're going?"  
  
"It's called Ayers Rock. It was found by explorers, of course, but the natives, the aborigines, were there first."  
  
"Typical." Willow muttered.  
  
"The place is gorgeous, with a circumference of about six miles, and rises about 1,142 ft in the air. About 70 million years ago, it was a small island, surrounded by a large lake. The natives used the place for rituals for thousands of years. After an intense study of the culture, language and the rituals themselves, it is believed by many that these people could very well be descendants from the Shadowmen, left to protect the dormant hellmouth."  
  
"So you are a watcher! I knew it!" Dawn cried, triumphant.  
  
"Well, my mother was, but my dad forbade me from becoming a watcher, and mum from taking in any potentials. But mum secretly taught me, since I was home schooled, and when dad died, she took in her first potential in...30 years."  
  
Buffy saw where this was going, "I'm sorry." She said quietly.  
  
"Thanks. After her...passing, I took the burden upon myself, all the watcher things that she used to do, without myself or dad knowing. We now have five slayers on the island, I think, and I'm lucky enough to be the blanket watcher. All of their exploits are related to me, and I make the decisions."  
  
"But what do you know about Wolfram and Hart?"  
  
"They've been here since the island stopped being a penal colony, I believe."  
  
Dawn's face contorted into confusion, "EW!" she said after a moment.  
  
"No, penal, as in penalty, not penis, Dawn." Willow clarified, without blinking. Only a few years ago she would have stammered and blushed.  
  
"Oh. That makes a lot more sense."  
  
The tour guide went on as before, "I 1985 the land was given back to the aboriginal people, but they soon leased it to Wolfram and Hart, to turn into a National Park. They've now taken over about as much of the tourism industry as they can. The park has an access fee, and there are guided tours every day."  
  
"Then how are we getting in?" Dawn asked.  
  
"By force."  
  
"But what about the hellmouth? How did it become inactive, dormant?" Willow asked, leaning forward, just in time to go over a bump.  
  
"We're not really sure. Through samples taken from the area, we know that it was one of the first hellmouths ever to open. Maybe even the oldest. Some of the oldest aborigines stories tell of ancient terrifying monsters taking refuge on top of Ayers Rock, slipping into a crevice, never to grace this world again. These are monsters of the like that you've never seen before, whether you've lived on a hellmouth, or not."  
  
"I'd like to make a wager on that." Willow muttered, remembering the thing that attacked her leg.  
  
"But the natives, for the past two years, have been terrified. A slayer hasn't been in their midst since the very first girl. They have legends telling of the end, and the death of their fighter. And now she is among them."  
  
"But things are different now." Dawn protested.  
  
"But they don't know that. They finally have another Chosen One, which, to them, marks the end of the world, as we know it. They've been training her night and day for the past two years, for her death. They know it's coming, and I bet they know it's now. They read the hellmouth like so many read books."  
  
"Well, we've stopped apocalypses before. We'll do it again." Buffy stated, sure of herself.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
The door was unlocked, the sudden noise in the silence jolting her awake. She didn't know what time it was, or how long she had been there, but it had been a very long time. The dust bunnies were talking to her again. But she wouldn't answer them. They'd hurt her if she did.  
  
"You remember your part, correct?" she nodded, now standing, the cold floor biting her tired feet. She tried to blink the Sandman sand from her eyes. "Then let's go." He hustled her out of the room, and through the twisting mazes.  
  
They finally got in sight of the doors. Lots of kids stood in three lines, one on each wall, and one in the center of the hallway. If she could have counted higher than thirteen, she would have known there were 144 children in all, and she made 145.  
  
They were marched up the steep slope, their ages ranging from 14 to 4. The older children helped the younger ones, some even carrying the smallest of children up the slope. All were tired, and all were hungry. Nobody helped Ashleigh. She was forced to climb at the very front of the group, away from the other children. She would be the first to die.  
  
She didn't fight it. None of them did. They had all been told, ever since their very first day, that this was their destiny, some for over thirteen years.  
  
When they got to the top of the huge rock, the groups split up. Twelve kids per group. Twelve groups. One sacrifice.  
  
The early morning sun rose, casting gorgeous light over the peculiar looking group, already standing at the top of the rock. One girl, only a few years older than the oldest castor, stood at the head of the group.  
  
"What? Only one slayer? Is that it? One will not be enough to touch our might." The leader, who had Ashleigh tightly by the arm, scoffed. He let go of her long enough to clap his hands. "Begin. NOW!" Ashleigh was pulled over to a platform, about five feet above a hole in the ground. It wasn't a deep hole, except for the steep sides that threw the bottom into shadow, so it seemed like it went a lot farther down. The other children started rushing around, setting up their circles.  
  
"How about 210?" A voice rang out over the din of kids scrambling to get things done. Ashleigh cried out in surprise.  
  
"No number can stop us." He looked at the blond that stood with arms crossed at the end of the path, young women slowly rowding around her, once they finished their climb.  
  
"FUCK!" Angel snarled, tempted to put his fist through almost anything.  
  
"If I had known our destiny was to wait in a hot car, while the girls go off and fight the big bad, I would have opted out, Mate. No offense, since your company is always peaches and cream."  
  
"Do you really think I want to be here with you either?" Angel growled, "Why were we wanted here, if we couldn't help, either side?" Angel stared gloomily outside, through the special glass that taunted him. Just then, storm clouds began forming, almost from out of nowhere, and something blocked the sun. He craned his neck trying to look up, to see an eclipse. With the massive cloudbank moving in quickly from the west.  
  
"Well, it ain't an apocalypse without an eclipse, now is it?" Spike asked, but Angel was already out of the car, racing up the cliff. Spike swore and raced after him.  
  
END OF UPDATE  
  
Well, hope you liked! Please review, because the more reviews I get, the more likely I am of updating. And if you like this story, then either check out Is Daddy an Angel, my own story, or look up any of GidgetGirl's stories, for something to do while you're waiting for this one to be updated. Is Daddy an Angel is complete, but it's still a great story, even if it didn't win at the Barefoot Awards, maybe this one will. 


	10. Part Ten

Stolen Innocence  
  
Part Ten  
  
Posted: May 21, 2004  
  
Disclaimer: see previous parts  
  
Author's notes: so, where did I leave you guys? Oh yeah, that's right....Well, here's where things get good. And trying to find a place to stop, there really isn't one! So I'm sorry if it seems like it ends abruptly, I think it was the best place to stop, sorta comes to a slow down, before picking right up again.  
  
Sorry if it's in any way confusing!  
  
Reader Responses:  
  
Willow Fireheart: Yeah, I loved that joke. That's actually what I thought penal stood for, until like...sixth grade or something like that. Back when I was young and naïve. Now I'm...older and naïve.  
  
I got my info on MSN Encarta. I was looking for any physical description of Ayer's Rock what so ever, but I couldn't find any. So I had to go with some straight history facts. Of course...they were edited! And this has violence, in it, not to that specific guy, since I really don't know what happened to him. Maybe he jumped into the hellmouth...or maybe he was helped...hm....  
  
Bluie: another lover of the Penal joke! Lol. Thanks for the review!  
  
GidgetGirl: thanks for all your reviews. I'm glad Spike seemed in character. I'm not sure if I was trying to make him or not...but oh well!  
  
You really think so? Cool. For those of you who don't know, Gidget thinks Chapter eight was my best so far. Though definitely not a feel good chapter. Sorta like...Equinexuim, by...Lisette, I think...If any of you are reading that, then you know what I'm talking about! That story goes from bad to worse! I think that I showed diversity in chapter eight, and I'm really proud of it, I've never written a chapter quite like that...BUT THANKS!!  
  
START OF STORY  
  
"Whatever you do, don't kill the children! The men are fair game!" Buffy cried, as lots of guys charged them. Not all of the girls were on the plateau, but they were pushing from the rear, trying to get up where the action was.  
  
"The children will not stop until they are killed. Blood pact. Standard procedure." He grinned. "And where are your vampires?" He taunted.  
  
"Is it standard procedure to enter into binding contracts with minors?" Willow asked, from beside Buffy. The man looked daunted for a minute. Suddenly, the sun moved behind the moon, and the world went dark.  
  
"Right on time," Giles murmured, from Buffy's other side.  
  
"Oh, they should be here, any minute." Buffy smirked, at the man's new look. He didn't seem to certain of himself anymore. To think his superiors hadn't told him of the eclipse/apocalypse ratio.  
  
And then the ground shook. "Ah." The man said, "We knew you'd show, thanks to Eve, so we, ah, arranged a little reunion for you."  
  
"Why am I not thankful?" Buffy asked, as the ground shook again. Buffy was transported briefly to the last two earthquakes she had been in. One of which she had died during.  
  
"Not likin' this, B. These kids are in some sort of magic trances." Faith staggered a bit from the earthquake. Then the world split open, and a pool of thick red liquid bubbled out of the earth to fill the space. "Is that what I think it is?" Buffy nodded, entranced. A figure began to rise from the pool, a figure from her darkest nightmares.  
  
Meanwhile, other figures were also rising from the pool, but Buffy had her eyes locked on only one of them. The one that filled her with fear.  
  
"No," she whispered, horrified.  
  
"Ha!" He cried, triumphant. "You cannot keep a bad dog down!"  
  
"B, who's that?"  
  
"The Master." She just barely looked at the other vampires rising from the blood pool, all which upon further inspection, would remind her of something.  
  
Faith looked at Buffy, who was ashen, and more than a little worse for wear. "B, you once gave me excellent advice, so I'm gonna return the favor. Don't Die!"  
  
"B-But I did. He was just to strong...and the prophecy..."  
  
"Then what happened?" Faith tried to help her.  
  
"I...I drowned. I couldn't go near large bodies of water for weeks, without fear."  
  
"But what else happened?"  
  
That seemed to knock a tiniest bit of sense into her, "I kicked his ass!"  
  
"There's the B we know and love." She said, and Buffy stomped off. The other vampires were coming forward, engaging the other slayers, that weren't fighting the soup-ed up men.  
  
"Slayer." Faith heard a growl from beside her, and it was her turn to feel icey blood running through her viens. She turned slowly, looking at the figure there in pure horror.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
They had finally reached the top of the path.  
  
"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Spike punched a vampire. "Hey, wait, have I threatened you before?" the vampire reminded him of something, he just couldn't remember what.  
  
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your victims?" Angel asked, just a bit pissed off at the younger vampire. Spike just looked at him, reprovingly. "Of course not. She liked foreplay," He muttered, punching another vampire that was rushing him.  
  
"And I think this bugger owes me some money." Spike said as he punched another vampire.  
  
"They do look familiar..." Angel looked around at the sea of vampires and slayers. One girls, unfamiliar, was kicking every vampire's ass, that wore his true face, and many that weren't. "I wouldn't vamp if I were you..." he muttered, seeing Buffy and the pasty white vampire she beat on. "The Master." He breathed.  
  
"No shit?" Spike looked up form his pummeling. "I thought he was dead."  
  
"He was. Buffy...ground his bones to make her bread," Angel muttered angrily.  
  
"You been hanging out with the Boy too much," Spike acknowledged, "Hey, who's that vamp Faith's playin' with?"  
  
"Kokistos."  
  
"No shit!"  
  
"I thought she had killed him...they're all coming from the pool. Being summoned here..."  
  
"The spells! They must be bringing back all those that have a beef with the slayer. Or in this case, slayers."  
  
"Beef?" Angel looked at him reproachfully.  
  
"Maybe the Niblet's rubbed off on me some."  
  
"We have the stop the spells from continuing."  
  
"Easier said than done, mate. Buffy wouldn't want us killing the bits."  
  
"We don't have to kill them, hopefully." He jogged over to the nearest group, wrapping his arms around the oldest neck. She soon lost consciousness, from lack of blood, and he laid her gently on the ground. He looked at the other kids, who had a look of fear in their eyes, but also thankfulness, that he could make them stop. He nodded to Spike, and they got to work, each child looking relieved, as they wrapped their arms around their necks.  
  
"How are you?" she startled the guy. "I'm good. Though I'm kinda tense..." she shot her fist out and hit him in the groin. "Sorry," she said, faking sheepishness, "It was loaded, and it just went off." She shrugged as he slid to the ground, clutching his privates. Ashleigh giggled, before someone slapped her. "Anyone else up for a round?"  
  
"Faith! Switch!" Buffy knew she wanted to face her own fears, but neither of them were making headway against the ancient vampires. She put her hands on her knees, and bent over. Faith rolled over her back, and they squared off against their new partners.  
  
"Let's Do se do, Fruit Punch Man!" Faith taunted.  
  
It seemed that Dawn wasn't in the best of moods. In fact, she was royally pissed. She had traveled over halfway around the world, and she didn't even get to go shopping. Besides the fact that they were playing her tune with the wrong sister. She was the sacrifice. Ok, at first, she had thought it would be pretty cool having a younger sister around. She was sick and tired of being the baby. And she didn't even want to be the damn key. But it was her destiny, her point in life. A sucky point, but that's the way the ball bounced.  
  
But just like all little sisters, Ashleigh just had to steal the spotlight. She took up all of everyone's time, mostly Buffy's. She and Buffy never got to hang out anymore. And she never thought she'd actually think this, but she missed her sister.  
  
Maybe she was just a bit jealous.  
  
But she was majorly pissed off.  
  
The guys didn't even stand a chance. It seemed that the whole same blood as Buffy only gave her slayer strength when she was pissed. Which wasn't a good thing, in her mind. Well, good for her, bad for others. Slayer strength, plus pissed off teen. Dawn just loved her lot in life. She couldn't even have her own blood.  
  
Once she had laid out the last guy, she rushed up the three wide steps to Ashleigh, who wasn't bleeding too badly. They had cut her, once more, shallow cuts, in hopes that it would be enough.  
  
"D-Dawn! I-I'm so s-sorry!" she sobbed.  
  
"Hey, you don't think I haven't been through this before? It's no big deal, Ash."  
  
"Y-yes it is. T-The Hellmouth opens with my blood. A-And then the-the Old Ones come. You won't be able to stop it, and I'll die. I-I'm the s- sacrifice." She stumbled over the words, partly from fear, partly from her crying. "I'm bad. Bad, bad, bad. I deserve this. But I don't talk to the Dust Bunny. I didn't." she whined, trying to convince both of them.  
  
"You are not bad, Ashleigh Summers. We're going now." She finished untying the child, and picked her up. A bit of blood stained Dawn's white shirt, but when hadn't that happened? She looked around, wanting to Buffy she had Ashleigh, and saw who she was fighting. "Oh shit." She looked around. "Kennedy! Amanda!" she yelled, running towards them. "Take her! Protect her with your life!" she pushed the child into Kennedy's arms and ran off. Her first allegiance was to her older sister, who had saved her from Glory, and from death.  
  
She had heard enough about each of the vampires to know them by sight, or at least guess, Kokistos and The Master. Which meant the kids were either dragging them from another dimension, or reviving them. Not being a witch, she didn't know which was more possible. She noticed the vampires weren't coming from the pool as fast now, and two of the groups of spell casters lay on the ground. Angel and Spike were depriving each child of oxygen, almost with a tenderness that was hard to see coming from either of them, though she knew they possessed it.  
  
"Joanna, Katrina, Nina, Deb, help Spike!" she called to four nearby slayers, miraculously remembering their names. The nodded and ran off. "Angel!" she yelled, and he turned. She nodded towards Buffy, Faith, and the two ancient vampires. He nodded, seeing her direction, and they both rushed to help. Dawn jumped in with Faith, against the Master, leaving Angel to help Buffy.  
  
Angel and Buffy still flowed in their movements, seamlessly, and he waited a moment, and jumped in. It was as if they could read the others thoughts, and they completed each other, perfectly.  
  
Faith and Dawn had never fought together, and Dawn struggled to hold on to her anger, while Faith found it freakily like fighting with B, fighting with her younger sister. They had the same fighting style.  
  
"Faith! Piss me off!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Piss me off! I loose my slayer strength when I'm not angry. It's a strange being Buffy but not thing."  
  
"Uh...bitch! Whore! Slut!"  
  
"Not really working!"  
  
"Suicidal kissy slut who parks in the woods with vampires." Buffy supplied.  
  
"That was SO not my fault!" Dawn said angrily. She punched the vampire, back at slayer strength.  
  
"Thanks, B!" Faith called.  
  
"No prob. It's my job to push her buttons. And to know how to do it best." She smiled as Dawn dug into the vampire. The battle raged on.  
  
"They have to stop them" Ashleigh whispered.  
  
"What, babe?"  
  
"If they don't stop them, then it won't be just vampires that come. The mouth of hell will open, and we will die."  
  
"We'll stop them, don't worry." Amanda told her.  
  
"No, you won't. Death comes quickly to claim these innocent lives." Ashleigh's voice had a strange quality to it.  
  
"What do you mean?" Amanda asked, worridly.  
  
"'I could not stop for death, so it stopped for me.'" Ashleigh was swaying to and fro in Kennedy's arms. Amanda briefly recognized the poem. Emily Dickinson, she thought.  
  
"I think she's possessed." Amanda whispered.  
  
"Or just freaky. She is Buffy's sister, after all." Ashleigh struggled, and Kennedy almost dropped her. She set the girl down, and she started walking towards Buffy and Dawn. The two teens stared after her, and watched in horror as a Wolfram and Hart man picked her up and carried her away.  
  
"Dawn's gonna kill us." Amanda murmured.  
  
"Buffy's gonna kill us!" 


	11. Part Eleven

Stolen Innocence  
  
Part Eleven  
  
Posted: May 27, 2004  
  
Disclaimer: see previous parts. It's in here somewhere.  
  
Author's notes: Ok, there's good news, and there's bad news. I'll cover each in a minute. First off, I want to apologize for not updating on Tuesday. Things got really busy, and the computer wouldn't read my disk, and I was stressed, so I spent a hour and fifteen minutes reading the latest chapter written by Lisette, for her story Equinexium. It was very...well, it didn't help my stress!  
  
If you wanna know what I mean, then read the story. It's full of LOTS of everything depressing.  
  
Ok, do you want the good news, or the bad news first?  
  
Ok, if you want the good news first, then read this. If you want the bad news first, skip this paragraph, and come back.  
  
GOOD NEWS: I'm updating!!!  
  
BAD NEWS: Lots of stuff here. Let's see....this is the last and final chapter. There shall be an epilogue that I shall post in a couple days. Sometime next week, or the week after, depends on when I snap out of my funk. Second piece of bad news: I'm not gonna get a chance to update tomorrow, probably. Thirdly: We have like...two weeks of school left, and you know how teachers love to pile on extra work at the end? Yeah. I have to read Huckleberry Finn in these two weeks, write at least one more Creative Writing Story, and get through one more French 2 Chapter. And then there are finals. Band...we've already had our concert, so all we have up ahead is the parade on Monday, and the Senior's Last Assembly.  
  
Third piece of bad news, and this effects me way more than it will you, except I might not update in a really long while. My dad is moving to Texas June 1st. I'm in Maine, and he's moving, with his new girlfriend, to Texas. I won't be seeing him until July or so, if we can get down. Otherwise, I won't be seeing him until...Christmas, or even February. I have a feeling you are going to see LOTS more of angsty and depressing pieces from me. But that's probably to be expected.  
  
And final piece of news, there's been a serious decline in reviews. I'm sorry if some of you don't have the time to take ten seconds, click the Send Review button, and tell me you're there, but at the moment, with everything going on, I really need your support. And this goes for any story of mine you might read. I need to know that I'm putting out for people who actually care. I don't have the super Deluxe Fanfiction.net screen name, where you can tell how many people have visited your pages, because I can't afford it, and...I just would really appreciate it if you would review the stories of mine that you read.  
  
And I know that there are some people out there who are reviewing EVERY chapter, and I love you guys for it. Let's see... Bluie Twilight Star has reviewed almost every chapter, if not every chapter. GidgetGirl has been pretty consistent, but then she was wonderful enough to send me this challenge in the first place.  
  
So I'm pretty much asking if you'd review this chapter! I promise that if I get a ton of reviews, then I'll update ASAP, but otherwise, I'll probably update on Tuesday, or maybe next Friday...  
  
Oh! Willow Fireheart is another great reviewer!!! Sorry about forgetting you!  
  
Reader Reviews:  
  
Willow Fireheart: yeah, where I learned of that poem is from a Lurlene McDaniel's book...um...I don't remember the title, but the girl's name is Ann, I think, and the guy's name is Morgan, she goes to a horse ranch with her father, because she's dying...that was her favorite poem, and I remembered it in time to put it in!!  
  
I did that whole the vampire MAYBE owing Spike money, because I wanted to get across that it wasn't just their imaginations, or just the Master and that lot. Little vampires came back too! And I'm glad you thought the last chapter kicked...arse. I loved writing it. I loved writing this whole story!!  
  
And that it the only review!!!  
  
START OF STORY  
  
The child didn't struggle as they carried her back towards the hellmouth.  
  
The two teens went to run after her, but were quickly engaged by a couple of vampires.  
  
"SPIKE!" Amanda yelled, knowing he'd hear her. She pointed to Ashleigh once she got his attention, and the vampire sighed. Stupid bints couldn't stay out of trouble.  
  
He rushed towards the motionless child, knowing he'd be blamed if she was hurt. She was a Summers, after all, and now the littlest. And if he knew anything about Buffy, it was that he had to save the new bit.  
  
When he was about halfway across the huge plateau, the girl seemed to come out of a trance, and began fighting the men tying her back up. "Good girl, bit," he murmured, as she kicked a guy in the balls, unintentionally. Then he heard her scream. They all heard her, even over the sounds of battle. She definitely had a set of lungs in that tiny body.  
  
"ASHLEIGH!" Dawn screamed, turning to look, and the Master sent her flying.  
  
"Damn," Spike muttered, smelling more than seeing the thick blood now streaming lazily down her stomach and legs. He put on a burst of speed, and jumped, sending one of the men holding Ashleigh still into the ever- widening hellmouth. He grabbed the ropes in his bare hands and ripped them to shreds, now in full vampire mode. He kicked two more guys into the hellmouth, and reveled at their screams as they fell into the bottomless pit. Almost like the good old days. "Come on, bit, we gotta get you outta here," he grabbed her, flinging her over his shoulder, and ran once more. The men gave chase.  
  
Amanda and Kennedy, seeing the rescue, rushed in to help him. They still felt guilty about letting her get captured. They took out the four remaining men with ease.  
  
Spike set the child down, away from the battle. He was now covered in her blood. She was shaking, more than likely going into shock. He hesitated, then pulled off his coat, and tore off his black cotton t-shirt.  
  
"This is gonna hurt, little one. I'm sorry," he pushed the shirt against her cut, putting his other hand on her back, she cried out, as he knew she would. In his olden days, he would have loved to hear her scream, but now the sound filled him with guilt and remorse, "We gotta keep your insides in, bit." She nodded, tears streaming down her face.  
  
Amanda and Kennedy rushed over. "What can we do?" Kennedy asked.  
  
"Get all your gal pals and knock those kids out." They nodded, and ran off.  
  
The battle was getting fiercer. There seemed to be a lull from the vampire appearances, which only scared Buffy more, when she had the chance to think upon it. What was gonna come out next? Demon Mayor? Adam? Glory? Or even the First?  
  
Their own battle was getting more dangerous. And closer to the edge. A couple of times, Buffy felt her feet skitter on the loose gravel of the edge of the plateau, but Angel was there to grab her, saving her. But when it was his turn to slide upon the loose ground, she wasn't there to save him. He went over the edge, grabbing for anything to keep his balance, and disappeared. She screamed out his name.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
All of a sudden, he was falling. Time seemed to slow, and he was looking at four figures in toga like apparel.  
  
"Your debt has been repaid, night stalker. Do not anger us again." The voice was within him, and without, and all around him. He heard it with his ears, felt it with his body, saw it with his eyes, smelled it on the bloody wind, and he thought it in his mind.  
  
Before he had time to argue, or even respond, or come up with a comprehensive thought, they were gone, and his dead body sped towards the sun scorched earth. He landed with a bone crushing impact, an impact that would kill, and mercifully, he his head cracked against the ground and the darkness pounced on him. He did not feel the excruciating changes his body went through.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
Amanda had reached the group responsible for opening the hellmouth. The group of twelve was encompassed by the oldest twelve children, all thirteen years old, except for their leader, a chaste girl of fourteen.  
  
"Don't worry," Amanda embraced her.  
  
"No, it's my blood. The blood pact. It's my blood. This won't stop, can never end until my blood stops pumping."  
  
"I-I can't kill you," Amanda stuttered.  
  
"No, I just need an implement," she took the knife from Amanda's belt sheath. Amanda grabbed for it, but the girl was too quick for the young slayer, sliding the blade over her milky white throat, "Don't worry," she hastened to add, "I die pure, unlike so many..." Amanda stopped the girl from falling.  
  
"No!" the girl slipped away, held tightly in Amanda's arms, "no."  
  
All the conscious castors came out of a daze like trance, many sliding to the ground, the toll of the deep magicks sapping their strength from the small bodies. No more demons came from the blood pit, the Lagos demon crawling from the hole suddenly cried out as it's legs were severed from it's body. The hellmouth, fed on its meal of three men, ceased to grow in size.  
  
"SPIKE! GO! TAKE ASH!" Buffy screamed at him, punching the Master. After Dawn had been kicked away, and was now nursing a sprained ankle from landing wrong, she and Faith had traded. They were both down a team member.  
  
"Fucking bastard!" Dawn yelled, standing on her injured ankle. She figured if Buffy was using her injured arm, when she had been told not to use it for three more weeks yet, then it was ok to do this now, cry later. She punched a stake in to Kokisto's hide. She partially ducked, partially fell as her ankle gave way beneath her, and Faith threw a brutal sidekick, sending the weapon home.  
  
He glared at them as he dusted.  
  
"Incoming, B!" Faith jumped over her, slamming into the Master.  
  
"Go to him," she told her blond counter part, as she took the Master's attention from the older slayer.  
  
"We've got him!" Dawn assured her, standing once more on her ankle. She was glad she had worn a black t-shirt, she thought she had just ripped a couple stitches. But Buffy looked a whole lot worse for wear. Her tight, form fitting black tank top left nothing to be desired in her shoulder area, dried, caked blood wove it's way down her arm, and where the stitches had once been, were only holes. But she didn't seem to notice the pain.  
  
Buffy looked around, nodded, racing for the slope, staking a vampire a she ran.  
  
The 190 or so slayers finished cleaning up, staking vampires, and killing off what demons were left. With the combined strengths of Dawn and Faith, who were both somehow immune to the Master's thrall, they finally managed to slam a stake all the way through his body, killing him once and for all.  
  
Kennedy, a checkered white/red/black haired Willow, Amanda and five other potentials rounded up the last of the humans. The native people had taken a grievous hit, but their slayer was still alive. Those able to crowded around her, making sure she was in fact ok.  
  
"So, what are we going to do with this hole? Can't exactly leave it there." Dawn hobbled up to Willow, who was looking down into the hellmouth. She leaned heavily on Faith, her ankle was now killing her, and with the combined pain from her stomach, it almost blinded her.  
  
Willow's response was to hold up her hands, and begin chanting, "Hecate, Goddess of Witches, hear my call. Seal this entrance to this world; never let it cause trouble again. Hecate, I call thee forth. By the powers of the four Watch Towers, I call upon the power to seal this hellmouth.  
  
"Osiris, God of Witches, hear my call. Bind this entrance to this world; never let it cause trouble again. Osiris, I call thee forth. By the powers of the four Elements, I ask for the power to bind this hellmouth, so that it may never cause a problem for future generations.  
  
"Mother and Father, hear my plea. Protect this world from the evils of others. Seal this once dormant hellmouth, and shield it from those that seek it out."  
  
As she chanted, not only did a crowd draw, but slowly the earth shook, and Dawn could see the two sides growing, knitting themselves back together. With her last words, the earth filled itself in completely, and Willow slumped back. Kennedy went forward to help her stay upright.  
  
"Damn, that was a sweet spell," Willow murmured, leaning heavily on Kennedy. Xander soon came forward, and took half the weight of the witch, as her hair bled white, void of color, and then the red seeped back into it.  
  
Xander gave her a cocky smile, "Good job, Wills. We're proud of you." With a nod to Kennedy, they turned and slowly led the witch towards the way they had come, and down towards the cars, weary slayer girls following them.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
"Angel," she breathed, seeing his crumpled form. She knelt before him, taking his cold hand into her own. She was slowly being zapped of her adrenalin, the only thing keeping her going, keeping the pain at bay.  
  
"Let me help you get him to the car. The battle is almost over, we won't have cloud cover for long." Spike stepped over to her, "The bit's in the car. She needs a doctor."  
  
"Most of us do." She stood, shakily, and Spike helped her lift him, and carry him towards the covered jeep. Ashleigh sat in the front, Spike's shirt tied around her waist, to put pressure on the wound. Her head dangled, as she fought to stay conscious.  
  
Buffy and Spike lay his huge mass into the back seat, Buffy climbing in behind him. Spike jut watched her, finally realizing something that he had known for a long time, the thing that had kept his from seeking her out. Her concern for Angel came before all-else, just as her love did. She had never loved him, not as she had loved his grandsire. And the prophecy hadn't chosen him, something that he had known almost from the start. Angel had been working for redemption for almost a century, and his meager deeds could never touch that. When he had touched his grandsire, all this had become clear, for he heard the weak thumping, and felt the meager pulse in his grandsire's arm.  
  
The Shanshu hadn't chosen him, so why in the world, even Heaven and Hell, why would Buffy?  
  
Spike resigned himself to sitting in the front seat while all that gross love was going on in the back seat, and had even shifted Ashleigh's bulk onto his lap, before it started raining. It came down one drop at a time, at first, and then it progressed, in a slow, meandering way, as if the sky was crying.  
  
Slowly, the girls all made it down from the rock, helping the children and those that had gotten hurt. They all filed into the cars silently, and they drove off in the rain, towards the nearest hospital.  
  
END OF UPDATE  
  
In the next chapter, as soon as I get it posted, we shall see then end of this saga, and the great beginning of a new life, and hopefully many more stories. I've already got two new ones!!  
  
Oh, yeah. That's another thing. Anybody Reading A Day with Daddy and other Short stories, there is a new story up, called Rain. You'll see why, once you read.  
  
ENJOY!!  
  
PLEASE REVIEW! 


	12. Epilogue

Stolen Innocence  
  
Epilogue  
  
Posted: June 4, 2004  
  
Disclaimer: see previous parts.  
  
Author's notes: Well, here is the very last installment of Stolen Innocnece. If you have not yet fulfilled your daily quotient of Ashleigh- ness, then check out A Day With Daddy, and Other Short Stories if you have yet to. I am currently in the writing stages of a story about Buffy's daughter, though that won't be done for some time. Please check out other stories of mine, if you have yet to. If you are looking for kid-ish fics, try Divine Interference, with Buffy's baby daughter, named Dawn, or Is Daddy an Angel, a story about Buffy's trials to get her kidnapped daughter back, named Kathy.  
  
That's about all I have to say, I know this is more of a plug for my other stories, but in my world, fanfic and reviews are what makes the world go round.  
  
I also just want to thank you all for sitting down and taking the time to read this. I am very proud of this story, and I hope that you enjoyed it. I also want to thank all of you that have reviewed the last chapter, because when I really needed them, you were there to give them to me! Thanks!  
  
Reader Responses:  
  
agno3singer: I'm glad you liked it. And let me just say, if Spike gets anything or not, that will be another story, that you probably won't get out of my muse without strangling her. She doesn't really like to put the good Spike in a good light. Now, Evil Spike, that's another story... About the hide/side part, I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about, but thanks for brining it to my attention. Eventually, I'll go check out what you mean.  
  
Thanks for reviewing, and more than that, reading!!  
  
Five by Five: You read the whole thing in one day? I know that it's probably not that hard, this isn't that long, but...wow! Thanks! And I'm glad you thought I kept everything pretty much in character and whatnot. I was really worried about how to get everyone in there, especially Xander and Willow, my two favoritest characters two write, besides Dru. Sadly, she just didn't fit into this story, but oh well.  
  
And about the swearing, if you're talking about Angel and his...'f bomb', or whatever you want to cal it either last chapter, or the chapter before, then, yeah, it might have been over the top, but I felt it was necessary. He was majorly stressed, you know?  
  
Thanks so much for your long review!  
  
Gigil13: Thank you for reading. I'm glad you liked this story, and the Day with Daddy stuff. And I just want to point out, as long as there are readers, I will keep producing the highest quality stuff I can.  
  
Willow Fireheart: Thanks. Like I've said before, I'm really happy with this story. And I'm so happy that Angel is human as well. I knew that it was going to happen, but I had a hard time coming up with HOW.  
  
Ok, what's with the people pouting about Spike? Yes, he deserves someone, everyone does, but can we just say YAY! for Buffy and Angel first? Ok, so maybe all of you have, but still...I think that someone should curse Dru with a soul, and then she and Spike cane be together. I love her crazy ass-ness!  
  
And yes, teachers at the ultimate of evils, even worse than demons and vampires. We have to read The Adventures of Huck Finn in like...less than two weeks. It sucks. First I should start reading it, though...sigh  
  
Thanks for your review!!!  
  
BAShipper: Thanks for your review. I know you've been here since the first chapter. Did I forget to mention your, may I say, LOVELY screen name in my rant about people not reviewing? Sorry bout that. You are a good reader, and good reviewer. Everyone is! And another sad vote for Spike. I should keep track of this!  
  
Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Thanks so much for reading, and here is the last instalment of Stolen Innocence to wrap everything up!  
  
EPILOGUE:  
  
"All rise. The Honorable Judge McKinley presiding." The judge walked into the room, his gown flapping around him.  
  
He squeezed her hand comfortingly, as she took a shaky breath, This was it.  
  
"Your honor, we come before you today to agree upon the custody of the minor Ashleigh Melinda Summers," Charles addressed the judge.  
  
"You realize, councilor, that you are taking on one of the largest, and prestigious law firm in the country, correct?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Then you may proceed."  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
(I still haven't gone and emailed ff.net about this problem!! I want my page separators back!!!)  
  
"Miss Jones, why did you hand over the custody of your child of one and a half years of age to your employers?" Charles asked, with a confident air about him.  
  
"They, ah, threatened me," was her response.  
  
"How so?"  
  
"They said Hank, my boyfriend at the time, and Ashleigh's father, and I would loose our jobs if we didn't comply."  
  
"There was an investigation going on at the time, correct?"  
  
"Yes. Ashleigh had...gone missing, and we were under suspicion for being neglective parents."  
  
"Who found Ashleigh?"  
  
"Holland Manors."  
  
"And did you know Mr. Manors before he found your daughter?"  
  
"Yes, he was Hank's boss. He ran the department we both worked in."  
  
"Thank you. No further questions, your Honor." He walked to their table, taking a seat.  
  
"Miss Jones, how did Ashleigh get out of your third story apartment?" the other lawyer asked, standing.  
  
"I-I was in the shower, and Hank was working late."  
  
"So she was unattended, for say, half an hour?"  
  
"No, more like five minutes."  
  
"But she was left unattended, correct?"  
  
"Yes," she hung her head, "but-"  
  
"Would you say that by having the qualified team at Wolfram and Hart raise your child, she would no longer be left unattended?" he interrupted her.  
  
"I'm not a bad mother. I just want what's best for her. That's all any mother wants, for her child."  
  
"Are you saying that by handing the legal guardianship of your daughter over to Wolfram and Hart, that is what's best for your child?"  
  
"That's what I thought at the time, yes."  
  
"No further questions, your Honor." The lawyer sat down, smug.  
  
"Does the plaintive have any more testimony?" the judge asked.  
  
"Yes, your Honor. We would like to call Miss Buffy Summers to the stand."  
  
He squeezed her hand as she stood. She walked up to the stand, head up high, and sat down, back straight.  
  
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"  
  
"Yes," she nodded.  
  
"Miss Summers, what is your relationship to the minor in question?"  
  
"I am Ashleigh's half sister, by our father," she answered.  
  
"How long have you known about the minor?"  
  
"Her name is Ashleigh!" she said harshly, then composed herself, "I've known about my sister for about four months now."  
  
"And why do you seek custody?"  
  
"She deserves to be with the people who love her, not a large corporation who had many children already in their care." She was still bitter that they hadn't been able to get all of the children away from the firm, though a few had gone home.  
  
"How did you first gain knowledge of your sister?"  
  
"I learned of her through my other sister. She was visiting my ex, and helping him organize files."  
  
"Thank you. No further questions, you Honor."  
  
"Miss Summers, is it true that you kidnapped the minor in question, from her legal guardians?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And what is your current occupation?"  
  
"I recruit members for a prestigious company in England."  
  
"And what would the name of this prestigious company be?"  
  
"It's really a non profit organization, almost older than your law firm. The organization is called the Council of Watchers. We have over 5,000 members currently, spread across the globe."  
  
"You used to go to Hemery high school, did you not?" "Yes, for my freshman year, and the first three semesters of my sophomore year."  
  
"You were kicked out of Hemery, correct?"  
  
"Objection, your Honor. What does this have to do with the topic at hand?" Charles stood from his seat.  
  
"I mean to prove the capability of the witness, in raising a child," the lawyer looked at the judge.  
  
"Proceed."  
  
"Yes, I was expelled from Hemery," she knew the next question.  
  
"Yes, and you were suspect in the murder of another teen, on the grounds of Sunnydale High School, correct?"  
  
"Kendra, a dear friend. Yes, because I was found leaning over her body. They never found the weapon, nor the murderer, and I was never accused."  
  
"And you were expelled from Sunnydale High School that same year, correct?"  
  
She sighed, "Yes. My ex-boyfriend was on a killing spree, and I was too busy trying to stop him to jump through the hoops the principal at the time wished me to. It didn't help that my mentor and best friends were attacked, one had his arm broken, one ended up with a serious concussion, one was kidnapped, and one of my close friends, a teacher at school, was murdered in the upstairs hallway. Oh, and the principal was an impotent nazi with a bug up his butt the size of an emu." A snigger came from the back of the courtroom.  
  
"You were a missing person for three months, were you not?"  
  
"Yes. I loved my boyfriend, with my heart and soul, and when he decided to try and kill me and my friends for sport, after killing him in self defense, being expelled from school, and being told by my mother she never wanted to see me again, that little hell hole of a town really didn't have much going for it."  
  
"And at your graduation, the principal, mayor, and many guest and students went missing, and the school was," he paused for dramatic effect, "blown up, correct?"  
  
"Yes, after I came home, on my own free will, enrolled in school once more, passed all my make up exams, got a 1460 on my SATS, graduated with my class- "  
  
"Just answer the question!"  
  
"Yes, the mayor, principal and many of the attending student and adults went missing, and the school was blown up. But if you are trying to accuse me of that, you have no proof."  
  
"You also dropped out of college, did you not?"  
  
"Because-"  
  
"Yes or no, Miss Summers. Did you drop out of college?"  
  
"Yes." Her eyes smoldered dangerously.  
  
"Then why do you feel you are capable of raising a child?"  
  
"Do you promise to let me finish my answer, without interrupting?" she snapped back.  
  
"Miss, just answer the question," the judge stepped in.  
  
"I feel I am not only capable, but entitled to raise my sister because each and every point in my life that you've mentioned, the worst points in a list of many good times, all have explanations. During Hemery, my parents had recently gotten a divorce, and I wasn't handling it well. At that dance, a rival school broke into our school, tried to seriously hurt our sports teams, and rape our cheerleaders.  
  
"Kendra was my dear friend, and I had left her, when I went to deal with my boyfriend, with my two best friends, among others, so I could try and talk my ex-boyfriend from murdering the whole town. When I finally got something out of him that wasn't half-cryptic, he told me he had already sent his boys to kill her, and my other friends.  
  
"I already told you my explanation of why I ran away. The short version is, my mother found out I had slept with my boyfriend, and he was a mass murderer. She told me, literally, if I left that house, which I needed to, to save the world, yet again, she never wanted to see me again.  
  
"I came back from LA, after helping a girl get back on her feet, and away from her abusive boyfriend," she sent a prayer up to Ricky, "and her life on the streets, and she currently runs a homeless shelter, right here in LA.  
  
"I was allowed back in school, and I passed all of my make up exams. I was later awarded the award of Class Protector at Prom, for my community service helping battered teens at school.  
  
"I dropped out of college when we found out my mother had a brain tumor, and she died unexpectedly, to raise you younger sister, then 15.  
  
"In 2003, I was given a counselor job at the new Sunnydale high school, despite that I had yet to graduate college. I saved a young woman, named Cassie, from an attempted murder, only to have her die in my arms from an unexpected heart complication.  
  
"When the previous Council of Watchers was blown up that same year, I took in over 20 girls from all over the world that was under the Council's protection, to protect them from a heinous and needless death by the same psychopath that had murdered their families and mentors.  
  
"Why do I feel I deserve to raise my own sister? Beside the fact that I'm family, and I have her mother's blessing. Besides the fact of the condition that I found her in because your hired hit men harmed 20 of the girls still under my care, shot my fiancé three times, murdered two girls, harmed my other sister, shot me right in front of her, and kidnapped her from the only loving people she had ever known, how about the stories she told me, after I rescued her? About being locked in a small, white, concrete room, with nothing but a bed, with white sheets, only being allowed to use the bathroom three times a day, only getting two meals, that weren't even nutritious, how about the fact that the man put in charge of her molested her?" There was a collective gasp from the courtroom, "Why do I deserve custody of my sister? Besides loving her unconditionally, giving her a life where she can be just a normal kid, with normal parents, I would never hurt her. I would kill myself before thinking about harming her. And trust me, I've died twice, I know the risks by now."  
  
Even the lawyer seemed shocked as he told the judge, "N-No further questions, your Honor."  
  
As Buffy stepped from the stand, the courtroom burst into chaos. Amidst it all, she sat down beside him, and he took her hand into his lap.  
  
"ORDER! ORDER!' the judge slammed his gavel down. He waited for silence before continuing, "I call a three hour recess. I would like to see Ashleigh Summers in my chambers immediately. Court is dismissed."  
  
"Sir!" Buffy rushed up to the bench, "Ashleigh is petrified of being alone with a man. She is even uneasy around my fiancé, whom she was enamored with before Wolfram and Hart kidnapped her."  
  
"Very well, Miss Summers. You will be allowed to stay, as long as you don't inhibit the child in any way."  
  
"Thank you, your Honor." She nodded, and rushed out to collect Ashleigh.  
  
PAGE BREAK  
  
"After hearing the testimony, and speaking to the child in question, I find for the plaintiff," he hit his gavel on his bench.  
  
"Court is dismissed." The bailiff started.  
  
Buffy and Angel sat there in stunned silence for all of two seconds. Then they were up and hugging each other, kissing each other, and Angel even picked Buffy up and swung her around. Buffy kissed Gunn's cheek. And then Dawn, Faith, Willow, Xander, and Wesley were over the barrier, hugging and kissing each other. With Wolfram and Hart's track record, and not knowing of Ashleigh's abuse, they had never expected to win, no matter their testimony.  
  
And then Amanda brought Ashleigh over, and Buffy scooped her up into her arms. Her real mother came over and congratulated them. She and Hank had broken up soon after Ashleigh had been taken, and she knew she couldn't raise a child on her own. And working for Wolfram and Hart, she knew many of the things that went bump in the night, and knew Buffy would take care of her baby girl. Angel, now that Wolfram and Hart was cut off from their Senior Partners, was trying to repair the firm. He wanted Alicia to come and work at the LA branch, and she was trying to transfer over.  
  
"Does this mean I'm going to live with you?" the girl asked her oldest sister.  
  
"Well, that's what you wanted, right?" Ashleigh nodded, "Good." Ashleigh hesitated a moment, before leaning towards Angel, holding her arms out to him. He took her.  
  
"You're too big to pick up," he teased.  
  
"No, I'm just the right size," she smiled at him, "C-Could we go home now?"  
  
"Of course," Buffy smiled, "Party at our house, and even one eyed wise crackers are invited," Buffy laughed, as she let Xander bear hug her. He picked her up and she squeaked, making everyone laugh.  
  
Everyone started towards the exit, Dawn and Faith lagging a behind a bit. Walking and using her ankle had done more damage than Dawn could have imagined, and she still had a slight limp.  
  
"I don't think I've ever seen B so happy."  
  
"Not since before demons and darkness and death,"Dawn agreed.  
  
"Job well done," Faith held up her hand, and Dawn gave her a high five.  
  
"What are you two planning back there?" Buffy called, from where she was waiting for them, by the doors.  
  
"Nothing, B," Faith said with a straight face.  
  
"If her new mantra is want, take, have, I will so kick your ass," Buffy said as they caught up with her, "We already went through that phase."  
  
"B-uffy!" Dawn moaned, as the two older women laughed.  
  
"Come on, Buffy! Hurry up!" Ashleigh called, still in Angel's arms, from where the gang was waiting at the end of the hall.  
  
"I'm coming girly!" She called, jogging to catch up to her new family.  
  
END 


End file.
